The Israeli partition is played perfection. “Any intelligence agent would have dreamed of participating in such an operation », Breathe an ancient Western spy. Mossad was already in the top 10 of the best intelligence agencies in the world. The infiltration operation carried out in Iran, combined with the massive processing of technological data and the interweaving of surgical military actions, allows it, without blushing, to rise to the level of efficiency of the American CIA. If Israel can take place in such a fluid way its military campaign in Iran, it is because its army has exploited intelligence conquered sometimes for more than a decade.
Security experts are unanimous: the “rising lion” operation is one of the most sophisticated demonstrations of what modern intelligence is capable of producing. Would France be able to lead such an offensive? “Technically, it is within our reach. Which is both reassuring because we could do it, but also disturbing because we do not have the will ”analyzes an intelligence source. How did Mossad proceed? What lessons can learn from this operation?
An absolute secret
“Two people, apart from one, can keep a secret”wrote Shakespeare. The Israelis have not shared their planning with France. “We were not awareattests to a French source. On the other hand, we knew that Israel would not tolerate a nuclear Iran. We also knew that Tehran had been poisoned and that Mossad had access to it everywhere. »» In reality, for a decade, Tel Aviv has advanced its pawns in Iran in all discretion. Infiltrations, clandestine operations, power core … with, in sight, an obsession: the nuclear program. So much so that Israel was able to keep an eye in real time on the advance of the Iranian quest. “It is wrong to say that Iran is on the verge of acquiring the nuclear bomb. They do not know how to vectorize uranium enriched in a missile. They have never been so close, but they still had two or three years of margin ”nuances a military source.
Most specialists agree on the other hand to say that Tehran had the capacity to deploy a dirty bomb. From then on, Israel was looking for an opportunity window to destroy this program which had exceeded the border of acceptability. On the one hand, Iranian proxys like Hamas and Hezbollah were weakened. On the other hand, a nuclear agreement was envisaged with undoubtedly an American lifting of sanctions. Israel considered that it was the right time.
Freedom of action and methods
Military strategists call it “the major effect”. This rocking point to reach, before the horizon line, which will then allow access to its unhappiness. Last fall, Israel had already carried out a striking campaign against Iranian anti -aircraft batteries, allowing it to release the sky and maneuver freely. To obtain the locations of the strategic locations of this defense system, the Israelis have developed very powerful technological tools thanks to American support, which are based in particular on artificial intelligence to process mass data. They also relied on the reversal of Iranian nationals. “Mossad methods to recruit sources are rather incentive”quips an intelligence source. Clearly: threats, physical constraints, compromise, which can go as far as the targeted assassination.
“They had waste”continues an informed source. Understand that even if Israeli agents have been unmasked, some even hanging in public places, the objective has not deviated. “Their will has remained intact, as is the Iranian nuclear program has remained their priority over time”admits this source. Including when Israel was attacked on October 7, 2023 by Hamas terrorists. Mossad could then have chosen to turn away from the Iran front to exclusively focus on the Gaza strip. “Hamas surprised them because they were preparing the operation against Iran. But they managed to keep Iran online in sight as the main threat. It is a fine example of continuity ”we applaud in the intelligence community.
Human intelligence, key factor
According to several security sources, 90 % of Mossad’s information is technological. Listening, GPS tracking, cyber-intrusions in the phones of the diet executives …
90% of Mossad’s information is technological, the rest is based on human intelligence
The rest is based on human intelligence: infiltration, recruitment of sources, identification of strategic targets ready to betray … Mossad relies on a pool of around 7,000 agents and an annual budget of 3 billion euros. Three times more than its French counterparts from the Directorate General of External Security (DGSE). The special “Caesarea” division, one of the eight departments of Mossad, mobilized the Kidon unit, an elite group which excels in targeted executions. Since the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani in 2020 then the death of the scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh a few months later, Israel has multiplied clandestine operations against the thinking heads of the Iranian nuclear and ballistic program.
In the heart of Iran
According to sources close to Israeli services, Mossad managed in 2023 to exfiltrate a large quantity of confidential data from servers of the Iranian Defense Ministry, in a lightning operation in the heart of Tehran. The following year, an Iranian nuclear engineer, who disappeared in Istanbul, would have been found … in Tel Aviv, after having “Changed camps”according to the Israeli press. The “Rising Lion” operation is part of this logic of agility and modus operandi varied. Just before the triggering of hostilities, the Mossad agents managed to introduce illegal territory of explosive drones, gathering them and targeting targets on the ground … in perfect coordination with the air strikes of the F-35. “Human is what makes the difference. It is this little extra that allows you to increase the effects of technical capture ”points out a wise observer.
The Mossad has set up very secure liaison plans between the agents deployed in the field and the power station in Tel Aviv. And this despite an important social control in Tehran. “Revolutionary guards are obsessed with their moral police mission”reports a connoisseur of the region. To the point of raising guard on counterationing? Since June 12, the hunt for Mossad agents has intensified. The regime announced the arrest of five spies, which Israel has not confirmed. “There is now a war in war, that of information”warns a military source. Mossad above all managed to install at the heart of the power of formidable weapons: suspicion and paranoia. “This climate paralyzes the diet. When you know that your own information is poisoned, that does not encourage decision -makers to set up response operations ”analyzes a source.
Mossad has just demonstrated that it was a strategic weapon, capable of changing regional policy and dissuading its opponents. The service is not done. He continues to act in an invisible armed arm, striking without warning and blurring the tracks. According to several Israeli security sources, new “Surprises” service are expected in the coming weeks.
