How Israeli spies and pilots crippled an Iranian counterstrike
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei (R) with (R-L) IRGC commander Hossein Salami, Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani, and military chief of staff Mohammad Bagheri in 2020. All three generals were killed in the strike. Photo: Iranian handout via Getty
The U.S. and Israel were bracing for swift, fierce retaliation from
Iran
overnight.
Zoom in: As it became clear
Israel was about to attack
, the commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' air force convened in a bunker to coordinate the response.
Meanwhile on the ground, Israel's Mossad spy agency was conducting a series of covert sabotage operations deep inside Iran to take out air defenses and ballistic missile launchers.
Mossad also established an attack drone base inside Iran with drones that were smuggled in long before the operation, the Israeli intelligence official said.
The stakes: The IDF was prepared for a worst-case scenario in which Iran would swiftly launch 300-500 ballistic missiles toward Israel, the Israeli intelligence official said.
State of play: The IDF continued pounding Iranian ballistic missile targets around the country on Friday to prevent a more significant Iranian retaliation.
Iran's top leaders stressed on Friday that Iran will take revenge and Israel will pay a heavy price. As of Friday afternoon local time, the response was still limited.
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