Israel had been preparing for years for Operation Lion Nation against Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities. The attack involved strike systems mounted on vehicles secretly brought into Iran, as well as strike drones launched from a hidden base near Tehran.
Israel had been preparing for years for Operation Lion Nation against Iran’s nuclear and missile facilities. The attack involved strike systems mounted on vehicles secretly brought into Iran, as well as strike drones launched from a hidden base near Tehran.
This operation was based on close cooperation between the Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad intelligence service, The Times of Israel reports, citing an Israeli security official.
He said that Mossad agents had set up a drone base on Iranian territory near Tehran. The drones were activated on the night of June 12-13 and struck surface-to-surface missile launchers targeting Israel.
Additionally, vehicles carrying weapons systems were smuggled into Iran. These systems disabled Iranian air defenses and provided Israeli aircraft with air superiority and freedom of action over Iran.
צע״ל השלים מהלומה אישראנית נגדע מעשרה האחן האגאריט של המשטר האיראני בעבר אראני
— צבא אהגנא לעזראים (@idfonline) June 13, 2025
In recent hours, the fighter jets of the Air Force, in accordance with the precise intelligence of the Intelligence Agency, carried out an extensive attack against the air defense system of the Iranian regime in the west of Iran.
as part of תקיפיטו הושמדו dozens of מכ״מים ומשגרי… pic.twitter.com/1DupJPWhcq
The third covert measure was the deployment of precision missiles by Mossad agents near anti-aircraft sites in central Iran.
The operations were based on «innovative thinking, bold planning and surgical use of advanced technology, special forces and agents operating in the heart of Iran, completely avoiding the attention of local intelligence», — said an Israeli intelligence official.
These measures were part of an Israeli operation aimed at destroying Iran’s nuclear and military facilities. The attacks targeted Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz and other major Iranian cities, home to Iranian officials and scientists linked to the nuclear program, as well as high-ranking military personnel.
According to Military, the Israeli strikes killed the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, the Chief of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Mohammad Bagheri, and physicist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi.
Earlier, the SBU conducted Operation Web, during which four Russian military airfields, Belaya, Diaghilev, Olenya, and Ivanovo, were simultaneously hit. Drones taking off from trucks near these airfields destroyed or damaged 41 aircraft, including rare and valuable A-50s, Tu-95s, Tu-22 M3s, and Tu-160s. The SBU estimates the Russian Federation’s losses at over $7 billion.
It was reported that these drones were equipped with artificial intelligence technologies. The AI was trained on exhibits exhibited, in particular, at the Poltava Museum of Long-Range and Strategic Aviation.
