Last year, an Israeli telecom executive working in Europe returned to Tel Aviv and called from an old friend. Can he help design a phone that looks like a cheap Android, but can he send encrypted data that mimics social media traffic?
At about the same time, the reserve, working for an Israeli health startup, received a call from Unit 9900, a small part of the Israeli military, seeking clues to the vast data set. He was able to fine-tune the algorithms he worked on during his military service, so can a dedicated server sift through satellite images of fuel trucks and separate them from those carrying gasoline and those with missile propellants?
Neither was said exactly how last week’s opening salvo was shaped in Israel’s air attack on Israel. More than 12 security chiefs and nuclear scientists were assassinated almost simultaneously. The entire air defense array was destroyed, allowing one intercept to be fired. Numerous missile launcher sites have been identified and destroyed.
How Israeli security services have elicited parallel operations that combined the work of military intelligence Aman and foreign spy service Mossad with such effective attacks may never be fully disclosed. But the early hints are dripping down. None of the authorized leaks intended to embarrass Iran, to those familiar with the operation to speak to the age of financial institutions while anonymous.
They describe vast multi-year operations that rely on any possible assets that Israeli intelligence agency can portray. It describes commercial satellites, hacked phones, local recruiting, drones covering up, and even miniaturized weapon systems equipped on everyday vehicles.
People said the goal was to create a densely populated target bank to escape in the first few hours of a military operation. It was called the Israeli version of “Shock and Adoration.” Another said the aim was to embrace “bold.”
A former Israeli official described the project as a result of “millions of dollars and years of effort” to address what Israel considers as an existential threat. “When you’ve been working for many years, when you invest everything you have, human intelligence, open source intelligence, money — you’ll ultimately get this result,” they said.
In preparation for the attack, Aman identified focusing on so-called gravitational centers, such as firepower hubs and nuclear programs. It cross-referenced thousands of intelligence sources and began registering target banks by March of this year.
The first time of last week’s attack on Iran highlighted an ambitious and comprehensive target list that Israeli intelligence operatives continue to update © Social Media/Reuters
Among the clues as to how these targets were tracked, military technical teams discussed last October about how they monitored Hassan Nasrara, the leader of Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese militant group that Israel killed a few days ago. Their sophisticated, almost automated systems almost certainly produced his position once every 24 hours.
Israel’s attack on Iran has yet to achieve its grand strategic goals, the destruction of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear and ballistic missile programme. However, the first time last week highlighted an ambitious and comprehensive list of goals that Israeli intelligence operatives continue to update.
The opening shot of the campaign focused on at least four targets within minutes. Aerial defense around the most strategic sites. Part of two major nuclear equipment. Missile launch sites in western Iran had been identified as a threat to immediate response. In this way, Israel was able to capitalize on the surprising factor.
“The opening strike, the first offense, was the beginning of the campaign. We’re not finished yet,” said Miri Aisin, a former intelligence agent. “To be able to target 15 different people at the same time – now that’s not easy – and you’re kicking out the decision makers, so you’re delaying their responses to buy more time.”
Israel’s success caused at least some panic within Iran’s security facilities. This has been repeatedly embarrassed by the Mossad. The headquarters of the spy agency on the northern suburbs of Tel Aviv is a target for repeated Iranian ballistic missiles.
This week, a former senior commander of Iranian elite revolutionary security guards urged people to check their roofs for microdrons, claiming that Iranian opposition groups were paid to smuggle into major cities. Police Chief Ahmad Reza Radhan urged spies to submit themselves to Israel to receive “Islamic generosity.”
Fars News, which partnered with innovative security guards, reported warnings that cell phones were being used not only for surveillance but also for assassination.
“This must be the most important decision. All mobile phones belonging to commanders, senior officials, nuclear scientists and even families should be placed aside,” said Hardline MP Hamid Rasaee.
However, at this point, it is unlikely that such measures will bring about change, said those familiar with Israeli activities within Iran. Telecoms executives refused to discuss whether his software was eventually deployed to Iran, but boasted that hundreds of people were using it simultaneously around the world.
Israel currently hunts the remains of Iran’s air defense and has almost complete aerial advantage. It lost what looked like a Hermes 900 surveillance drone to an Iranian missile, but has not been affected by other other publicly acknowledged the loss of military hardware. Its air force is free to attack anywhere in Iran.
It’s lighter than Iran’s intelligence news project within Israel. A handful of Israeli citizens have been arrested and charged with gathering information about Iranians, but Iranian hackers have recently been split into mobile phones of the family of Mossad Chief David Barnea, and Iran has publicly trusted the violation.
The anti-intelligence team arrested several people, accused them of working in Israel, and was recently executed. However, it is not known that the Israelites were captured. It suggests either a massive recruitment of local operatives (either unconsciously cash), or people opposed to the Tehran regime.
In comparison, Mossad has repeatedly carried bold assassinations of Iranian nuclear scientists, including 2020, which was clearly carried out by remotely controlled machine guns attached to self-destructed trucks.
He left thousands of documents from Iran’s Netanyahu nuclear archives, showing them live television and assassinated a senior Hamas leader at an Iranian government guesthouse last year.
In addition to its mystique, Mossad said for the first time in history that commandos working within Iran have shown that they have fired attack drones and guided missiles that have taken Iranian air forces and missiles.
“From an intellectual perspective, (the whole campaign) is an impressive feat, as we saw in modern warfare. On an unprecedented scale in recent memory, the domination and penetration of complete intelligence,” said the former US Secretary of Defense.
Recommended
“I can’t imagine a conflict where one party has such a thorough understanding of the enemy’s accidental planning and leadership moves.”
Israel’s success against Hezbollah is in contrast to the fact that it failed to predict or prevent a cross-border assault in 2023 by Palestinian extremist group Hamas in a similar surprise campaign last year, and in the early stages of a full-scale conflict with Iran.
That latest achievement demonstrated the capabilities of Israeli intelligence reporting agencies and military units when directed and condensed, Aisin said.
“The Islamic regime in Iran was a top priority for Netanyahu and the security community as a whole. You are investing the capabilities of the entire security and intelligence community to find this information and act on it.”
However, she added:
