After strikes on nuclear sites, Israel covertly intimidated Iran's elite

Israeli operatives reportedly reached out to over 20 key Iranian officials in a secret campaign supporting Israel's military strikes on nuclear sites and weapons production facilities

In the immediate aftermath of Israel’s airstrikes on Iran on 13 June — which reportedly killed high-ranking military figures and nuclear scientists — Israeli intelligence operatives launched a covert operation designed to intimidate and sow division among Iran’s leadership, The Washington Post has reported.

 

Covert calls to senior officials 

Individuals associated with Israel’s security services, fluent in Persian, personally telephoned senior Iranian officials on their mobile phones, according to the report. Warnings were issued, cautioning that they too would be targeted unless they withdrew their support for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime. One operative estimated that more than 20 influential Iranian figures were contacted as part of the campaign. The Washington Post obtained an audio recording and transcript of one such call, which took place on the same day Israel launched its strikes.

 

 

Threats delivered to top leaders 

According to the recording, an Israeli intelligence operative told a senior Iranian general closely connected to the country’s ruling elite that he had 12 hours to flee with his wife and child, warning that he was already on their list. The operative reportedly cautioned the general that he and his family could be targeted at any moment, saying that they were closer to him than his own neck vein. The general, a member of the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was told he had 12 hours to make a video denouncing the Iranian government.

 

Intimidating Tehran’s leadership 

It remains unclear whether the general complied with the demand or recorded such a video. The general is believed to be alive and still in Iran. The broader intent of the campaign, a second source explained, was to intimidate and unsettle Tehran’s leadership.

 

Secret operation aided aerial strikes

 

An Israeli individual who shared the audio and transcript with The Washington Post also provided a description of a second, similar phone call to another senior official closely aligned with Khamenei. The person who shared the recording stated that the audio had not been altered, except for disguising the voice of the Israeli intelligence operative to ensure his anonymity.

 

The phone calls made to high-ranking Iranian military and security personnel were part of what Israeli security officials have described as a wider covert operation that ran alongside Israel’s military strikes on nuclear facilities, weapons manufacturing sites, and missile systems.

  Trump announces ceasefire between Israel, Iran

 

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, signalling a possible end to nearly two weeks of conflict. The ceasefire, arranged by Washington DC, will take effect gradually over 24 hours. He made the unexpected announcement late Monday night on his Truth Social platform. It came shortly after Iran fired missiles at a US military base in Qatar in response to American airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear sites.