Israel’s Mossad spy agency deployed some 100 foreign agents in Iran ahead of the start of June’s 12-day war with the country, with the spies tasked with destroying many of Iran’s missile launchers and air defense systems at the start of the war, according to a report.

Channel 13 has reported, in a report aired last week, said the specially trained agents placed and operated heavy missile systems that had been smuggled into Iran, and were then used to target the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile launchers and anti-aircraft missile systems in order to assist the Israeli military in its campaign.

The operation was described as unprecedented both in scale — never before had so many agents been activated in a single mission — and in complexity, as it required giving non-Israelis control over sophisticated weapons systems.

The report included interviews with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar, and National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi, who discussed details of the extraordinary June 13 overnight strikes in Iran that started the war, the hope that the United States would step in to help destroy the underground Fordo nuclear facility, attempts to find an opportunity to assassinate Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and destabilize Tehran’s regime, and efforts to cause residents of Tehran to flee the capital.

Netanyahu recalled informing US President Donald Trump about the planned operation against Iran, saying: “I told him, ‘We have to do it.’ And he said, ‘You’re right, it’s gotta be done.”

Netanyahu added that he told Israel’s defense establishment: “We are going to destroy the Iranian nuclear project as best we can. We aren’t waiting for a green light from the US, and what is more, it doesn’t matter if they say no.”

A number of ministers discussed the need for absolute secrecy in the run-up to the opening strikes of the war.

“I had a friend whose daughter was supposed to get married that week. I sat and discussed the wedding even though I knew it wouldn’t be happening,” said Sa’ar.

Netanyahu, when asked whether his own family had been kept in the dark like the families of the other ministers and officials, given that his son Avner was set to get married a few days after the war started, was slightly evasive.

“Of course my wife knew that we would take certain necessary security actions. And she could have guessed, but nobody knew,” he said.

The report revealed that in the summer of 2023 — even before the October 7 Hamas onslaught — the air force opened a new intelligence unit with the understanding that the threat from Iran would need to be dealt with.

The opening strikes by the IDF in June came after two massive Iranian missile and drone attacks on Israel in the preceding months and intelligence that was said to show Tehran was accelerating its nuclear program.

Air force operations chief Brig. Gen. Gilad Keinan said that of course there were concerns that Israeli pilots could be killed or shot down during the war.

“We were confident that we knew how to reach any pilot or navigator that was shot down. The question was more whether we would be able to extract them,” he said.

Keinan also said that while Israeli jets were under threat from Iran’s aerial defenses, Iran did not send planes up to fight them because they did not want to run the risk of shooting down their own aircraft with surface-to-air missiles.

Keinan additionally confirmed that soldiers had been in action “somewhere” on the ground, but refused to give further details.

The unnamed officer in charge of operational planning also said that troops were on the ground “in the Middle East,” but refused to confirm if that included Iran.

The report also revealed transcripts of cabinet meetings ahead of the war and during it.

Hours before the start of the war, a senior security official told ministers that Iranian intelligence had started to see signs of an impending Israeli attack, but that Tehran believed that the US was restraining Israel ahead of a new round of talks on the nuclear program.

The official also noted that activities had been underway for a number of years to undermine the Iranian regime.

Cabinet ministers were additionally told to expect 200-400 Israeli civilian casualties in the war.

When the order was given for the war to begin, the ministers were taken to a secure bunker. A few hours later, their families were also taken to secure locations.

The military also took precautions. The chief of staff and his deputy were sent to different locations, with a duplicated command center to ensure that the chain of command could continue if one were hit.

Hanegbi said there were concerns that a 2 a.m. tweet by US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee could have alerted the Iranians to the plan.

“At our Embassy in Jerusalem and closely following the situation. We will remain here all night. ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem,'” Huckabee tweeted, just ahead of the start of the Israeli strikes.

Huckabee’s tweet was soon followed by a statement from Trump on his Truth Social network that “in the coming days” the US Army will “heap glory upon glory.”

When the Iranian air force began to realize there was something underway, its leaders gathered in command centers.

“It was a red wedding,” said many of the Israeli officials, using the phrase to describe a massacre in the popular “Game of Thrones” series.

“We understood within 48 hours that the skies of Tehran were ours,” said an unnamed air force official.

When Iran began to strike back, some Israeli ministers were concerned that Trump was seeing images of devastation in Israeli cities.

According to the report, Shas leader Aryeh Deri told a cabinet meeting on the second day of the war that “Trump shouldn’t be seeing these explosions in Israel and it could get worse.”

The outlet said that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer responded that in fact he thought the footage and photographs would work in Israel’s favor.

“Actually I think the images from Israel are good for us. If there’s no damage he can’t explain to his public why he is sending us refuelers, and why in a few days why he would [order the US army] to join,” he said.

Netanyahu apparently agreed, reportedly telling the ministers that “pyrotechnics and color are more important than the other things.”

“We must attack fuel tanks, a Basij [paramilitary] facility and more tonight. That is what will influence Trump and convince him to join,” the premier reportedly said.

“He said that tomorrow would be the most important night. I am going to give him a birthday greeting and I want to bring him a gift,” Netanyahu said.

Katz said Israeli leaders discussed targeting Khamenei, although it was not an explicit war goal, but that this wasn’t possible, adding: “If there had been an opportunity, we would have [targeted him]. He went deep underground, and we couldn’t get to him.”

Asked whether Khamenei was marked for death, Netanyahu responded: “His regime wants to destroy us. I don’t see why he would be immune.”

According to the officer in charge of operational planning, while many of the nuclear sites were targeted, “part” of Tehran’s nuclear materials were hit. The officer also said that Iran’s nuclear materials had been “widely” damaged.

Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.

Iran has consistently denied seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. However, it enriched uranium to levels that have no peaceful application, obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities, and expanded its ballistic missile capabilities. Israel said Iran had recently taken steps toward weaponization.

Iran retaliated to Israel’s strikes by launching over 500 ballistic missiles and around 1,100 drones at Israel.

The attacks killed 31 people and wounded over 3,000 in Israel, according to health officials and hospitals.

In all, there were 36 missile impacts and one drone strike in populated areas, causing damage to 2,305 homes in 240 buildings, along with two universities and a hospital, and leaving over 13,000 Israelis displaced.