Israeli spies used AI to prepare 'years in the making' attack on Iran

Israel left Iran reeling last week with a high-precision, longstanding intelligence and military operation that took down key targets. Their forces used a combination of espionage, artificial intelligence, and an array of stealthily-introduced warplanes and drones for a nighttime assault that crippled much of Iran's air defense and missile capabilities.

This tactical blitz enabled Israel to strike pivotal nuclear facilities and eliminate prominent generals and scientists. By the time Iran could react, its already Israeli-suppressed counterstrike potential was further undermined.

"This attack is the culmination of years of work by the Mossad to target Iran's nuclear program," said Sima Shine, the former Mossad research director who is now an analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies.

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At the onset of last week's attack aimed at crippling Iranian air defenses and missile systems, Mossad agents had covertly smuggled precision weapons into Iran for close-range strikes, as per two security officials who requested anonymity to discuss the missions. These weapons included compact, armed drones that were clandestinely transported into the country in vehicles, a former intelligence officer revealed.

According to Shine, Mossad agents strategically positioned weapons near Iranian surface-to-air missile sites. She added that the agency collaborates with a diverse group of individuals, including locals and Israelis.

To process the collected information, Israel employed cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI) technology, an intelligence officer involved in selecting targets shared. He explained that AI was utilized to swiftly analyze vast amounts of data they had gathered.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction. Iran's political leaders say their nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though it was the only country without the bomb to enrich uranium close to weapons-grade levels.

The Mossad and the military worked together for at least three years to lay the operational groundwork, according to a former intelligence officer who said he had knowledge of the attack. This person spoke on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the subject.

The attack built off knowledge Israel gained during a wave of airstrikes last October, which "highlighted the weakness of Iranian air defenses," said Naysan Rafati, an Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group.

To further diminish Iranian air defenses and missile systems at the start of last week's attack, Mossad agents had smuggled precision weapons into Iran that were prepositioned to strike from close range, according to two current security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the missions. Those weapons included small, armed drones, which agents snuck into the country in vehicles, according to the former intelligence officer.

Mossad agents stationed weapons close to Iranian surface-to-air missile sites, Shine said. The agency works with a mix of people, both locals and Israelis, she said. To analyze information it gathered, Israel used the latest artificial-intelligence, or AI, technology, said an intelligence officer involved with selecting individuals and sites to target.

He said AI was used to help Israelis quickly sift through troves of data they had obtained. That effort began last October according to the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media; it was one month before Netanyahu said he had ordered the attack plans.

Among the high-level military officials killed since Friday's attack were Gen. Hossein Salami, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and Gen. Mohammed Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces.

In addition to AI, the Mossad relied on spies to identify top nuclear scientists and members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, according to one security official. At least eight members of the Guard, including the head of its missile program, were killed in a single Israeli strike on an underground bunker.

Another facet of the attack was to strike Iranian vehicles used to transport and launch missiles.

Shine said the strategy was similar to a Ukrainian operation earlier this month in Russia. In that operation, nearly a third of Moscow's strategic bomber fleet was destroyed or damaged with cheaply made drones snuck into Russian territory, according to Ukrainian officials.

In an interview with Iranian state-run television, the country's police chief, Gen. Ahmadreza Radan, said "several vehicles carrying mini-drones and some tactical drones have been discovered." He added: "A number of traitors are trying to engage the country's air defense by flying some mini-drones."

The Mossad is believed to have carried out numerous covert attacks on the Iranian nuclear program over the years, including cyberattacks and the killing of Iranian nuclear scientists. But it rarely acknowledges such operations.

During the 2000s, Iranian centrifuges used for uranium enrichment were sabotaged by the Stuxnet computer virus, widely believed to be a joint Israeli-American operation.

In 2018, Israel managed to steal an archive of Iranian nuclear research comprising tens of thousands of pages of records, according to Yossi Kuperwasser, a retired general and former military intelligence researcher who currently heads the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security.

In July 2024, Israel assassinated a senior Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh, using a bomb in a bedroom of a government guesthouse in Tehran.

Last week's intense Israeli attack on Iran's nuclear and military infrastructure was not spontaneous, stated retired Israeli Brig. Gen. Amir Avivi, who leads the Israel Defense and Security Forum think tank.

He attributed it to "Israeli intelligence working extensively for years in Iran and establishing a very strong robust presence."