Israel sent Mossad agents deep into Iran: Report

Time of India

13 hours ago

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JERUSALEM: Israel sent Mossad commandos deep into Iran to destroy Iranian weapons systems during Israel's attack on nuclear and military targets, an Israeli security source said, while another official said Israel used a ploy to suggest the strike was not imminent.
The Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, described secret and lengthy preparations that went into the attacks.
Reuters could not independently verify the accounts.
Iranian officials who spoke to Reuters shortly before the attack had been dismissive about any imminent action and repeatedly said talk of strikes was just 'psychological pressure' to influence US-Iranian nuclear negotiations that were due on Sunday.
Ahead of the strike, Israel gave the impression its focus was still on US diplomacy towards a nuclear deal with Iran.
Instead, Israel said it sent 200 warplanes to conduct a wave of air strikes across Iran before dawn on Friday, hitting nuclear facilities and missile factories, and killing military commanders and nuclear scientists, in a culmination of its efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
The Israeli security source said Israel's military and Mossad had worked for years on the intelligence needed for the strikes.
M
ossad even smuggled weapons into Iran. The security source said Mossad commandos had covertly deployed weapons across Iran, including explosive drones that were launched at a surface-to-surface missile base near Tehran. The Mossad commandos also fired precision-guided weapons systems at Iranian surface-to-air missile systems as the Israeli attack got underway, reducing the threat to Israeli warplanes.
A grainy black and white video distributed by Mossad showed what it said were its operational force — two camouflaged figures crouched in what looks like desert terrain, deploying the precision weapons system meant to destroy Iran's air defence systems.
The decision to strike Iran was made Monday, the same day Netanyahu and Trump spoke, when Netanyahu, defence minister Israel Katz and military chief Eyal Zamir decided the operation would begin Friday, said a second source. The final green light was given by Netanyahu's security cabinet, which convened Thursday night.
REUTERS