The Israel Defense Forces and Mossad claim to have launched their devastating strike on Iran from a secret base constructed within the Islamic Republic’s own borders.
Iran was devastated by a surprise attack, dubbed “Rising Lion,” in the early hours of June 13, as Israeli weapons targeted nuclear facilities, military command centers, and missile sites.
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The attack was partially launched from a secret drone base constructed near Tehran by the Mossad, according to Israeli officials. These were activated at the beginning of the assault to take out ballistic missile launchers, ensuring Iran would be unable to respond.
Additionally, Israeli intelligence and defense agencies reportedly smuggled vehicles into Iran outfitted with weapons systems capable of taking out Iranian air defenses. When the attack was launched, these systems provided the necessary disruption for Israeli pilots to fly with air supremacy.
Mossad also shared video footage of its defense forces on Iranian soil, deploying precision missiles against Iran’s surface-to-air defenses.
The nearly simultaneous operations amounted to a stunning campaign of clandestine warfare that left Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s regime almost completely defenseless.
Top military leaders and nuclear scientists were targeted in the campaign. The deaths of key individuals, such as Gen. Hossein Salami, chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and former head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Fereydoon Abbasi, were confirmed.
“We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said following the attack. “We struck at the heart of Iran’s nuclear weaponization program. We targeted Iran’s main enrichment facility in Natanz. We targeted Iran’s leading nuclear scientists working on the Iranian bomb. We also struck at the heart of Iran’s ballistic missile program.”
The Israeli plan, which was reportedly years in the making, bears a striking similarity to the recent drone attack launched by Ukraine in its war against Russia.
The Ukrainian military smuggled approximately 117 drones deep into Russian territory by hiding them in the roofs of wooden sheds. These sheds were then transported via truck to locations close to military targets and remotely operated to strike fleets of bomber airplanes.
Both the Israeli and Ukrainian operations speak to an evolving conception of war in the age of military drone technology.