Israel’s major attack on Iran was allegedly supported and prepared by agents of its intelligence service, Mossad.
Israel’s major attack on Iran was allegedly supported and prepared by agents of its intelligence service, Mossad. Mossad agents operated deep inside Iran, deploying and operating precision weapons and drones in enemy territory to destroy air defense systems in an operation based on years of planning.
As a result, Israeli warplanes were given the freedom to bomb Iranian military command bunkers and nuclear facilities. This latest operation is part of a series of spectacular Mossad missions dating back more than 60 years.
ARGENTINA, 1960: NAZI WAR CRIMINAL ADOLF EISHMANN IS KIDNAPPED
The kidnapping of German Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann by the Mossad is legendary. The agents found Eichmann, one of the most notorious Nazis and the chief architect of the deportation and murder of European Jews, in Argentina in 1960. They overpowered him on a Buenos Aires street and smuggled him to Israel, where he was sentenced to death and executed in 1962.
1996: EXPLOSIVES IN THE CELL PHONE OF THE HAMAS LEADER
In January 1996, Israeli intelligence assassinated Hamas military leader Yahya Ayyash using explosives hidden in his cellphone, which were detonated remotely. At the time, Israel was the first country to use a communications device for assassination, according to Israeli intelligence expert Ronen Bergman, who wrote a history of the Mossad called “Rise and Kill First” and now reports for the New York Times.
JORDAN, 1997: FAILED ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT ON HAMAS LEADER
This was one of the most famous failed missions for the spy agency and is considered one of its greatest failures. In September 1997, Mossad agents attempted to spray Hamas leader Khaled Meshal with a deadly poison in the Jordanian capital of Amman, but failed.
Jordanian King Hussein was so outraged by the attack that he forced then-current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to procure a noxious gas canister to save Meshaal’s life. The two Mossad agents who were arrested were released after Israel was forced to release Hamas’ spiritual leader, Ahmed Yassin, who was later killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2004.
SWITZERLAND, 1998: MOSSAD CAUGHT IN INTERCEPTION ATTEMPT
In February 1998, five agents were caught trying to install surveillance equipment in an apartment building in a suburb of Bern. Police arrested one person and released four others after checking their fake passports. The arrested agent was given a suspended sentence. The incident contributed significantly to the resignation of then-Mossad chief Danny Yatom.
DUBAI, 2010: ASSASSINATION OF HAMAS MILITARY LEADER AL-MABUH
In January 2010, Hamas military leader Mahmoud al-Mabouh was killed in his hotel room in Dubai. He was first sedated and then strangled. Israeli media described al-Mabouh as the mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of Israeli soldiers in 1989. Arab authorities suspected 27 people, who allegedly entered Dubai on forged European passports and left shortly after the killing. About a month later, Dubai’s police chief blamed Mossad, but Israel denied any involvement.
IRAN, 2020: THE ASSASSINATION OF A TOP IRANIAN NUCLEAR SCIENTIST
In November 2020, Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh was shot dead in his car in a suburb of Tehran. Fakhrizadeh, the head of the Research and Innovation Organization at the Iranian Ministry of Defense, was never officially declared a target by Israel. It remains unclear whether he was killed by assassins or by remote-controlled weapons. U.S. officials at the time suspected Israeli involvement, and many saw the Mossad’s signature in the operation.
IRAN, 2024: ASSASSINATION OF HAMAS LEADER, HANIYA
In July 2024, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh visited Tehran to attend the inauguration of Iran’s new president, Masoud Pezeshkian. Hours later, Haniyeh was assassinated in a tourist residence in northern Tehran after Mossad allegedly managed to plant explosive devices in the guesthouse, which were then detonated remotely. Two months later, Israel admitted that Mossad had killed Haniyeh using a remotely detonated bomb. Haniyeh was the most senior Hamas leader to be killed since the start of the Gaza war in October 2023.
LEBANON, 2024: MANIPULATED PEJJERS KILL MEMBERS OF HIZBOLLAH
In September 2024, the pagers and hand-held radios of thousands of officers of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah militia in Lebanon exploded. Thirty-seven people were killed and more than 3,000 were injured. The Mossad had meticulously planned the operation over a long period of time. The devices, manufactured in Taiwan, were secretly shipped to Israel through a network of Mossad front companies before reaching Lebanon. In Israel, Mossad specialists installed small explosives on the devices. Years later, the Israeli government gave the order to detonate them.