NEW YORK, June 27. /TASS/. The Israeli leadership began preparations for the operation to destroy Iranian nuclear facilities and eliminate the country's scientists and military commanders in November 2024, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources in the Israeli and American intelligence.
According to the newspaper, a secret meeting was convened last November with 120 high-ranking representatives from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), the Israeli Air Force command, and the country’s intelligence community. The meeting resulted in the approval of a list of 250 sites of Iran's nuclear program and military infrastructure, as well as the names of individuals — specifically, the commanders of Iran's armed forces and its nuclear physicists. It was also decided that the location of Iranian air defense facilities must be determined in as much detail as possible to neutralize them during air strikes. The newspaper's sources said that an extensive network of Israeli intelligence agents in Iran began forming in the mid-1990s to ensure future sabotage operations against Iran's nuclear program. Israeli spies infiltrated deep enough to locate nuclear facilities, air defense systems, and key individuals Israel intended to eliminate.
The Wall Street Journal noted that once the decision was made in November 2024, agents spent months bringing hundreds of drones to Iran in disassembled form. The drones were placed near Iran's air defense sites and were to be destroyed at the start of a future operation.
Risk of operation’s failure
The final decision to launch a military campaign against Iran was made on June 9, four days before the initial strikes. The Israeli leadership named the operation against Iran "Rising Lion," and separate operations to destroy Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists were named "Red Wedding" and "Narnia," respectively. Israel feared that Iranian intelligence could track the impending strikes, prompting the country to disperse its military leadership and hide its key physicists.
Israeli commanders believed that if they failed to quickly eliminate the targets, the entire operation would fail because Iran would be able to mount a more coordinated response. However, according to the newspaper's sources, the Iranian leadership failed to take countermeasures to protect the military and scientists. Israel believes this failure ensured the success of the military campaign.
About conflict
In the early morning hours of June 13, Israel launched a military operation against Iran. Less than 24 hours later, Iran retaliated. Nine days later, on the morning of June 22, US jets attacked three Iranian nuclear facilities, entering the conflict. The following evening, Tehran launched a missile strike on Al Udeid, the largest US military airbase in the region, located in Qatar. According to the US authorities, there were no casualties or significant damage.
On June 24, Trump announced that Israel and Iran had agreed to a complete ceasefire. The Israeli authorities confirmed that they had accepted the US proposal and announced that they had completed all objectives in their operation against Iran. In turn, Tehran said that it had achieved a victory over Tel Aviv by forcing it to unilaterally halt its aggression. The ceasefire has been in effect since June 24.