Israel's spy agency used AI and smuggled-in drones to prepare attack on Iran, sources say

Israel stunned and hobbled Iran past week erstwhile it pulled disconnected an intelligence and subject cognition years successful nan making that struck high-level targets pinch precision.

Guided by spies and artificial intelligence (AI), nan Israeli subject unleashed a nighttime fusillade of warplanes and equipped drones that it smuggled into Iran to quickly incapacitate galore of its aerial defences and rocket systems.

With greater state to alert complete Iran, Israel bombarded cardinal atomic sites and killed apical generals and scientists. By nan clip Iran mustered a consequence hours later, its expertise to retaliate — already weakened by past Israeli strikes — was greatly diminished.

This relationship is based connected conversations pinch 10 existent and erstwhile Israeli intelligence and subject officials, immoderate of whom said connected information of anonymity to talk clandestine operations.

It was not imaginable to independently verify immoderate of their claims. But nan erstwhile caput of investigation astatine Israel's spy agency, nan Mossad, confirmed nan basal contours of nan attack, saying she had wrong knowledge of really it was planned and executed.

“This onslaught is nan culmination of years of activity by nan Mossad to target Iran's atomic programme,” said Sima Shine, nan erstwhile Mossad investigation head who is now an expert astatine nan Institute for National Security Studies.

Israel’s constituent of astonishment was enhanced by Iranian officials’ evident presumption that Israel wouldn’t onslaught while talks complete its quickly advancing atomic programme were ongoing pinch nan United States.

A sixth information of talks had been planned for past Sunday successful Oman, but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu activated “Operation Rising Lion” connected Friday – aft his state first notified US President Donald Trump.

Netanyahu has for years said neutralising Iran’s atomic programme was captious for Israel’s security, and Israel had antecedently taken steps to group backmost Iran's expertise to enrich uranium to weapons grade.

But Netanyahu said a much fierce onslaught proved necessary, arsenic Iran kept advancing its enrichment programme contempt US negotiated efforts and warnings from UN watchdogs.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has many times called for Israel's destruction. Iran's governmental leaders opportunity their atomic programme is for serene purposes, though it was nan only state without nan explosive to enrich uranium adjacent to weapons-grade levels.

Smuggling drones into Iran

The Mossad and nan subject worked together for astatine slightest 3 years to laic nan operational groundwork, according to a erstwhile intelligence serviceman who said he had knowledge of nan attack. This personification said connected information of anonymity, fixed nan sensitivity of nan subject.

The onslaught built connected knowledge Israel gained during a activity of airstrikes past October, which “highlighted nan weakness of Iranian aerial defences,” said Naysan Rafati, an Iran expert astatine nan International Crisis Group.

To further diminish Iranian aerial defences and rocket systems astatine nan commencement of past week's attack, Mossad agents had smuggled precision weapons into Iran that were prepositioned to onslaught from adjacent range, according to 2 existent information officials who said connected information of anonymity to talk nan missions.

Those weapons included small, equipped drones, which agents snuck into nan state successful vehicles, according to nan erstwhile intelligence officer.

Mossad agents stationed weapons adjacent to Iranian surface-to-air rocket sites, Shine said. The agency useful pinch a operation of people, some locals and Israelis, she said.

Using AI and quality intelligence to prime targets

To analyse accusation it gathered, Israel utilized nan latest AI, said an intelligence serviceman progressive pinch selecting individuals and sites to target. He said AI was utilized to thief Israelis quickly sift done troves of information they had obtained.

That effort began past October, according to nan officer, who said connected information of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to nan media. It was 1 period earlier Netanyahu said he had ordered nan onslaught plans.

An investigation by The Associated Press earlier this twelvemonth uncovered that nan Israeli subject uses US-made AI models successful warfare to sift done intelligence and intercept communications to study nan movements of its enemies. It's been utilized successful nan Israel-Hamas warfare successful Gaza and conflict pinch Hezbollah successful Lebanon.

The intelligence serviceman progressive successful identifying imaginable targets said that options were first grouped into various categories, including leadership, military, civilian and infrastructure. Targets were chosen if they were wished to beryllium a threat to Israel, specified arsenic being profoundly associated pinch Iran's Revolutionary Guard — a paramilitary unit that controls Iran’s ballistic missiles.

The serviceman was tasked pinch putting together a database of Iranian generals, including specifications connected wherever they worked and spent their free time.

Among nan high-level subject officials killed since Friday's onslaught were General Hossein Salami, nan caput of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and General Mohammed Bagheri, nan main of unit of Iran's equipped forces.

In summation to AI, nan Mossad relied connected spies to place apical atomic scientists and members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, according to 1 information official. At slightest 8 members of nan Guard, including nan caput of its rocket programme, were killed successful a azygous Israeli onslaught connected an underground bunker.

Targeting Iranian vehicles

Another facet of nan onslaught was to onslaught Iranian vehicles utilized to carrier and motorboat missiles.

Shine said nan strategy was akin to a Ukrainian cognition earlier this period successful Russia. In that operation, astir a 3rd of Moscow’s strategical bomber fleet was destroyed aliases damaged pinch cheaply made drones sneaked into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials.

In an question and reply pinch Iranian state-run television, nan country's constabulary chief, General Ahmadreza Radan, said “several vehicles carrying mini-drones and immoderate tactical drones person been discovered.”

He added: “a number of traitors are trying to prosecute nan country’s aerial defence by flying immoderate mini-drones.”

How acold backmost does this go?

The Mossad is believed to person carried retired galore covert attacks connected nan Iranian atomic programme complete nan years, including cyberattacks and nan sidesplitting of Iranian atomic scientists. But it seldom acknowledges specified operations.

In nan 2000s, Iranian centrifuges utilized for enriching uranium were destroyed by nan alleged Stuxnet machine virus, believed to beryllium an Israeli and American creation.

In 2018, Israel stole an archive of Iranian atomic investigation that included tens of thousands of pages of records, said Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired wide and erstwhile subject intelligence interrogator who now directs nan Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.

In July 2024, Israel killed a elder leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, pinch a explosive successful a chamber of a authorities guesthouse successful Tehran.

Israel's blistering onslaught past week connected nan bosom of Iran’s atomic and subject building didn’t travel retired of nowhere, said retired Israeli Brigadier General Amir Avivi, who heads nan Israel Defence and Security Forum deliberation tank.

It was nan consequence of “Israeli intelligence moving extensively for years successful Iran and establishing a very beardown robust presence,” he said.