[Text/Observer Network Chen Sijia] Local time on June 13, Israel launched a large-scale air raid on Iran, resulting in the deaths of several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists of Iran. The New York Times reported that sources familiar with the matter said that the Iranian leadership misjudged Israel's actions, and the penetration by Israel's intelligence agencies exceeded Iran's expectations, which left Iran unprepared to defend against Israel's air strikes.
The US Cable News Network (CNN) disclosed that Israel spent years planning the attack on Iran. Agents from Israel's intelligence agency Mossad quietly transported missile components and drones into Iran to strike Iran's defense capabilities from within. This seems to suggest that Israeli agents have treated Iran as their "playground," and some of Iran's secrets have already been penetrated.
Sources close to Iran's leadership revealed that the Iranian government always believed that if the US-Iran nuclear negotiations failed, Israel would launch an attack. They never expected that Israel would take action before the sixth round of indirect talks scheduled for the 15th. These officials said that it might be due to this "complacency" that Iran neglected the planned preventive measures.
The New York Times said that these messages came from six senior Iranian officials and two members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. They said that when Israel launched the attack, many senior military commanders of Iran were not in safe houses but had returned to their homes. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh, the commander of the Aerospace Forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and his senior staff did not comply with the instruction prohibiting gatherings at the same location and held an emergency meeting at a military base in Tehran. He was killed in the attack.
Four Iranian officials said that Israel attacked at least 15 locations in Iran, but it was not until the evening of June 13 local time that the Iranian government confirmed the specific damage caused by the Israeli air raid. Iran's radar and air defense systems were severely damaged, its ballistic missile depots were struck, several senior military officials died, and part of the ground facilities of a nuclear facility in Natanz were also damaged.
In some private communication records provided to The New York Times, Iranian officials angrily asked after the incident: "Where are our air defense systems? How can Israel attack any target they want and kill our senior commanders while we are powerless to stop them?" Some officials also criticized Iran's misjudgment and defensive failure.
Local time on June 13, an explosion occurred in Tehran, Iran. Visual China
Hamid Hosseini, a member of the Energy Committee of the Iran Chamber of Commerce,在接受 media interviews in Tehran said: "Israel's attack caught the leadership completely off guard, especially the deaths of senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. It also exposed our lack of appropriate air defense systems and our inability to prevent key facilities and military bases from being bombed."
Hosseini pointed out that the penetration of Israel's intelligence agencies into Iran's security and military institutions also shocked the officials. Over the past few decades, Israel has been conducting secret operations such as assassinating nuclear scientists in Iran, but in this "multi-pronged" attack, Israel quietly transported missile components and drones into Iran, indicating that their penetration reached a "new height."
A CNN official reported on June 13, citing Israeli security officials, that Israel spent years preparing for this attack on Iran, during which Israel's intelligence and special mission bureau (Mossad) played a major role.
This official revealed that Mossad agents established a base near Tehran to launch suicide drones, which were activated at dawn on the 13th to strike Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers. Mossad also smuggled precision-guided weapons into central Iran through vehicles, deployed strike systems on the vehicles, and positioned precision-guided missiles near Iran's central air defense bases.
Israeli security officials said that these strike systems destroyed Iran's air defense systems, giving Israel air superiority over Iran. The official said that these operations relied on "breakthrough thinking, bold plans, and surgical operations using advanced technology. Special forces and agents operated deep within Iran's heartland while completely avoiding surveillance by local intelligence agencies."
CNN noted that Mossad also rarely released videos on social media showing agents' actions in Iran. This seems to indicate that some of Iran's secrets have been penetrated by Mossad and other Israeli intelligence agencies, allowing Israeli intelligence agencies to attack some of Iran's highest-ranking officials and most sensitive locations.
Holly Dagres, a senior researcher at the Washington Institute, said: "For years, Mossad has treated Iran as its 'playground.' From assassinating top nuclear scientists to sabotaging Iran's nuclear facilities, Israel has repeatedly proven that since the first direct confrontation in April 2024, it has maintained the upper hand in the open shadow war."
Mossad agents conduct operations in Iran. Mossad video screenshot
The New York Times said that given the serious damage to Iran's defenses and missile strike capabilities, whether Iran can sustain long-term military conflict with Israel remains unknown. A member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei now faces a difficult choice: he must choose whether to continue escalating the conflict at great risk or retreat - which may be interpreted by the outside world as failure.
Iran has retaliated by launching missile and drone strikes on Israel. However, two sources told The New York Times that Iran initially planned to launch 1,000 ballistic missiles at Israel to ensure maximum destruction, but due to the Israeli strike on its missile bases, the Iranian army could not quickly deploy the missiles onto the launch pads. Ultimately, Iran launched about 100 missiles in the first wave of missile attacks.
Ali Fathollah-Nejad, director of the Middle East and Global Order Center at the European think tank, told AFP: "This is a life-or-death intelligence failure for Iran. It exposes the severe vulnerabilities of Iran's military and security institutions, critical infrastructure, and the highest political and military leadership. All of this means that Iran's command and counterattack capabilities have been weakened."
On June 13, Israel launched a large-scale air raid on Iran, targeting dozens of locations related to Iran's nuclear program and other military facilities. The Israeli military claimed that Iran had enough enriched uranium to produce several bombs within days, so preemptive action was needed to address this "imminent threat."
The attack resulted in the deaths of several senior military commanders and nuclear scientists in Iran. Iranian media confirmed on the 13th that General Salahmi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Chief of Staff Bagheri were killed in the attack. Previously, Iran preliminarily counted six nuclear scientists dead in the air raid, while the Israeli Defense Force claimed on the 14th that nine Iranian nuclear scientists died.
The Fars News Agency of Iran reported on the 13th that according to unofficial statistics, the Israeli air raid has caused 78 deaths and 329 injuries.
In response to Israel's attack, Iran retaliated in the evening of the 13th by launching missile and drone strikes on Israel. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps issued a statement saying that this operation successfully carried out "devastating precise strikes" on dozens of targets, including Israeli military centers and airbases.
According to Al Jazeera reports, Iran's retaliation has caused at least four deaths and dozens of injuries in Israel.
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei has issued a statement saying that Iran's armed forces will take military action to "completely destroy Israel." Israeli Defense Minister Katz threatened on the 14th that if Iran continues to fire missiles at Israel, "Tehran will turn into a sea of fire."
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