Israeli Attack Reveals Deep Infiltration into Iran

In the early hours of Sunday (15/6/2025) WIB, Israel attacked the Iranian Ministry of Defense office and several oil depots. The Shahran depot serves as the main storage facility for oil for Tehran, the capital of Iran.

In addition to the damage to buildings and facilities, Iran also lost a number of generals and scientists. The Tasnim news agency reported on Saturday that Brigadier General Mahdi Rabbani and Brigadier General Gholamreza Mehrabi were confirmed dead in the Israeli attack.

They are Deputy Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. Rabbani is in charge of operations, Mehrabi is in charge of intelligence.

The Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, has been reported killed in an early morning attack by Israel on Friday. Alongside Bagheri, five generals and nine Iranian nuclear scientists were also killed.

One of those scientists was Fereydoun Abbasi. Reported by CNN and The Guardian, Abbasi had been hunted by Israel since at least 2007. Repeatedly attempted to kill him, Abbasi was finally killed by a missile worth at least $113,000 or Rp1.8 billion per unit.

The hunt for Abbasi was part of a years-long Israeli intelligence operation inside Iran. "Iran has been an open book for Israeli intelligence for a decade or longer," senior Israeli intelligence writer Yossi Melman told The Guardian.

There are several groups of people in Iran that serve as a gateway for Israel to infiltrate. First, members of the Iranian Jewish community. Although they harbor animosity towards Israel, the Iranian government allows the Jewish community to live in Iran as they have for thousands of years. Like many Jews in various other countries, some Iranian Jews are more loyal to Israel than to Iran, the country in which they reside.

The second group consists of Iranians who have moved abroad and still have family in Iran. The third group includes individuals who oppose the Iranian government. Some members of this group are supporters of the Shah of Iran, who was overthrown in 1979.

The fourth group consists of individuals who act as Israel's accomplices due to extortion or for payment. They are usually soldiers or government employees. Some are extorted with indecent video recordings.

Operations in Iran are primarily conducted by the Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations, or in Hebrew, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים. Established and operating secretly since 1949, this agency is more commonly referred to as the "Institute" or simply Mossad in Hebrew.

In the June 2025 attack, Mossad did not operate alone. They involved Aman, the Israeli military intelligence directorate. The cooperation between Mossad and Aman abroad is rare. This is because Aman does not have as large a foreign division as Mossad. Mossad's primary focus is indeed abroad. Within the country, security intelligence is mainly handled by Shin Bet.

The unusual aspect of the operation in Iran is not just the collaboration between Mossad and Aman. Within hours of the first attack, Israel revealed that its intelligence agents were operating from within Iran.

A video capturing the actions of Israeli agents in Iran was broadcast through mass media and social media. Typically, Israel rarely acknowledges intelligence operations abroad, even when those operations are successful.

The main objective of Mossad in Iran, according to Melman, is to instill fear among the Iranian populace. "Mossad seems to be telling Iran: we know everything about you. We can infiltrate your home at any time," said Melman.

The assassination of Iranian generals in the early Friday morning attack demonstrates that Israel is aware of many details in Iran. Israel knows the security protocols, the chain of command, important locations, and even the shelters of Iranian officials. "Mossad has treated Iran like a playground for years," said Holly Dagres, a senior researcher on Iran studies at the Washington Institute, to CNN.

For the Friday attack, Mossad did not solely rely on its network of operatives in Iran. They dispatched field agents who collaborated with Aman agents. The main task of the team targeted air defense artillery (Arhanud) as well as missile launchers and storage facilities.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a meeting on Monday (9/6/2025) with several high-ranking officials, decided that an attack would be launched. At that time, fewer than 10 people in Israel were aware that the attack would take place early Friday morning. The team in Iran was also not informed; they were merely instructed to remain on alert. The Israeli military, Tzahal, was also unaware.

After Monday's meeting, Netanyahu called U.S. President Donald Trump and told him about the attack plan. Hours after the call, the U.S. sent 300 Hellfire missiles to Israel.

The missile shipment is part of a $7.4 billion arms package approved by the U.S. Congress in February 2025. Given this situation, no announcement regarding the delivery of the lethal weapons is necessary.

The missile is part of Israel's arsenal to attack at least 100 locations in Iran early Friday morning. Iranian generals and nuclear scientists were killed by the missile. Meanwhile, some of the air defense systems and Iranian missiles were destroyed by drones from within Iran.

Although missiles and aircraft were used by Israel to attack Iran and Israel had informed in advance, the United States hurried to declare that it was not involved. Bombs and missiles from Israel exploded in Iran at 03:30 Tehran time. At 03:45, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a written statement. In essence, Israel acted independently and the U.S. was not involved.

Several hours after Rubio's statement, Trump announced that he had been informed by Israel before the attack was launched. Subsequently, several U.S. officials also revealed the same information.

The US is not only the manufacturer of the F-35, F-16, and F-15. The US also helps Israel develop these jets further. In order to attack Iran, the US-Israel modified the F-35 so that it can fly long distances without having to refuel.

The closest distance of Israeli air bases to the missile and bomb launch points is 1,500 kilometers. Thus, the round-trip flight is at least 3,000 kilometers.

The standard version of the F-35 can only fly a maximum of 2,100 kilometers on a single tank of fuel. Some variants can only reach 1,100 kilometers. Modifications by the US-Israel have enabled the F-35 Adir, the variant operated by Israel, to fly further without the need for refueling.

Tzahal claims that Israeli jets flew all the way to the skies over Tehran. This freedom was achieved because the Mossad-Aman team had previously incapacitated some of Iran's air defense systems and missile launchers.

The team used drones that were smuggled in gradually over the years. There is no information on whether the drones were smuggled intact or disassembled and then reassembled within Iran. Israel only stated that the drones were stored in vehicles that moved from one location to another. The modus operandi is similar to the "Spider Web Operation" launched by Ukraine in Russia on June 1, 2025.

The aircraft, along with the missile target guidance team, was informed to be on duty early Friday morning. At that time, the entire Israeli cabinet had just concluded a meeting and unanimously approved the attack on Iran.

After the meeting, Israel once again informed the United States about its plans for an attack. "It is hard to believe that Israel would and could carry out an attack on this scale without the approval of the United States," said Vali Nasr, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University in the United States. (AP/AFP/REUTERS)