The drone that attacked the bedroom of Iran's key figures had been hidden nearby for several months.
An Israeli Mossad operation reminiscent of a movie.
The full scope of Israel's "Operation Lion Rise," which targeted Iran's military leadership, nuclear physicists, and sabotaged major nuclear and missile facilities on the 13th of this month, has come to light. In this attack, Iran lost its Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander, Chief of Staff (equivalent to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff), Deputy Commander, as well as renowned nuclear physicists and dozens of key nuclear developers. The international community believes that the success of this "decapitation" operation, which simultaneously eliminated the war command center and core personnel, was made possible by the extensive network of spies operated by Israel's Mossad, which has long been active in Iran.
In preparation for this operation, the Israeli Mossad smuggled drone parts and bombs into Iranian territory several months ago. They established "secret bases" near Tehran and throughout Iran's nuclear and missile facilities to assemble the smuggled components and form an attack drone force. On the morning of the 13th of this month, after the operation began, Israeli Mossad attack drones appeared across Iran. These drones directly entered the homes of military leaders and exploded, successfully assassinating key figures. Many cases involved penetrating the walls of high-rise apartments and exploding in the bedrooms of the targets. An Israeli senior security official told The Washington Post: "Many victims were lying in bed at home." The Mossad was able to carry out such actions because they had intelligence on the locations of Iran's high-ranking officials' bedrooms through their networks.
An Israeli government source revealed to The Washington Post that after successfully assassinating key figures, the Mossad agents who had secretly infiltrated the scene expanded their operations to include major nuclear facilities and missile bases across Iran. Another senior Israeli official said: "This operation took a long time and required decisive and meticulous planning and tactical deception." During recent nuclear negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, Mossad covert operatives also went undercover in places like Tehran, accurately mapping the movement routes of key figures, breaching surveillance networks around nuclear and missile facilities, and updating information about the targets. Ultimately, most of the local targets in Iran were eliminated when the operation began.
For years, large-scale Mossad agent teams and spies have been active in Iran. Holly Dagras, a researcher at the Washington Institute, told CNN: "The Mossad has treated Iran like a playground for years." The Washington Post stated: "Iran's inability to protect its military leaders and scientists from Israeli assassination is surprising." Mossad operatives installed precision-guided weapons previously smuggled in at Iran's surface-to-air missile bases and conducted autonomous car attacks and cyberattacks, dismantling Iran's air defense network. The smuggled drones were also used to disrupt the air defense system. Videos showing Israeli attack drones playing games with Iran's air defense systems were gradually released by local Israeli media after the 14th.
At the beginning of the operation, when the command center was assassinated, Iran found itself helpless against the five successive waves of attacks launched by the Israeli Air Force. Israel deployed over 200 aircraft, including F-35 stealth fighters, to drop more than 330 precision-guided bombs and missiles on over 150 targets across Iran. The Mossad operatives had already rendered the surface-to-air missiles ineffective on-site and had precise knowledge of the main targets, so the accuracy was quite high.
The Daily Telegraph of the UK reported: "Israel once again demonstrated its most impressive army in the world. This attack showcased remarkable precision. The Israeli army likely closely monitored this battlefield (in Iran) for about 10 years. Considering the level of intelligence needed to eliminate military leaders, the Mossad operates a large spy network in Iran's political and military circles."
This "Operation Lion Rise" is similar in style to Israel's previous "decapitation" operations targeting the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah. Last month, Israel conducted precise bombings in the hospital area of Gaza, eliminating Hamas leader Mohammed Deif. In October last year, Israel assassinated Yehiya Sinwar, then-leader of Hamas and brother of Mohammed Deif. The Israeli military subsequently released a video showing an armed drone tracking the interior of Sinwar's apartment, assassinating him while he was exhausted. This action reminded people of the current operation where drones invaded bedrooms. These were retaliatory measures taken after the Hamas raid on Israel in October 2023.
Before the all-out war with Hezbollah last September, Israel carried out "precision strikes" against its leadership, eliminating most of the core commanders, including the highest commander. During this process, Israel pre-installed small bombs on wireless pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah for security purposes, causing explosions and demonstrating the thoroughness of the operation. Jacob Amidor, a former Israeli security advisor, commented in an interview with The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) regarding the "decapitation" operation: "If you disable your opponent's decision-making system, you can gain many advantages. (Israel) has learned this lesson."
The name of Israel's "Operation Lion Rise" is derived from Numbers 23:24 in the Old Testament: "Behold, the people shall rise up as a lion, and lift up himself as a young lion; he shall not lie down until he eateth of his prey, and drinketh the blood of the slain." Lions are fierce animals symbolizing the establishment of the kingdom in the Judah tribe, one of the "Twelve Tribes" of ancient Israel. The Judah tribe is the ancestor of today's Jewish people forming Israel. In Genesis 49:9, the Old Testament character Jacob blessed his fourth son, Judah, the progenitor of the Judah tribe, calling him "a lion's whelp," linking lions with the Judah tribe ever since.
Source: Chosun Ilbo
Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7516397264932209192/
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