How Iran's Khamenei was protected amid Israel's assassination threat during Israel-Iran war? Mossad couldn't find him due to...
Israel had targeted Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei for assassination during the 12-day war. (File)
Ayatollah Khamenei: Israel's June 13 attack on Iran, which triggered the 12-day Israel-Iran war, shocked the world, not just because of the scale of the lethal airstrikes it conducted on Iranian cities, but the deadly precision with which Jewish state almost wiped out the entire top brass of Tehran's military leadership and nuclear scientists. Khamenei was targeted for assassination
The assassination of Iran's top military brass, including IRGC chief Hossein Salami and Iran's Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, raised fears that Israel's next could be Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei himself. The fear gained credence when Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, began talking about regime change as a war aim, with Katz later openly admitting that they aimed to killed Ayatollah Khamenei.
According to report by Firstpost, Israel Katz said that the Israel Defense Force (IDF) was tasked with assassinating Khamenei but did not get an opportunity to do so as they could not locate the Iranian Supreme Leader.
Here's why the IDF, and even the Mossad– Israel's premier spy agency– failed to locate Ayatollah Khamenei during the 12-day Israel-Iran war. Where was Khamenei during the 12-day war?
According to media reports, as soon as the war began on June 13, Ayatollah Khamenei was rushed to an ultra-secure secret bunker located somewhere in the northeastern suburb of Tehran. The bunker is a highly-secret location, and only a few close aides of Khamenei and his family, knew about his whereabouts.
During his stay, the Iran Supreme Leader essentially went off the grid, turning off all electronic communication with his commanders, making it impossible for Mossad and IDF to trace his location as his phone and other electronic gadgets were turned off.
Speaking to Channel 13, Israel Katz admitted that Israel planned to assassinate Khamenei, and would had done so without any hesitation if they had managed to find him.
Meanwhile, in his first televised address since the Israel-Iran ceasefire came into effect, the Iranian Supreme Leader on Thursday issued a stern warning to Israel and its ally, the United States, stating that America will 'pay a heavy price' if the Islamic Republic is attacked again. Khamenei also claimed that Iran had delivered a 'slap to America's face' with its missile strike on the US military base in Qatar.
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First Post
14 minutes ago
- First Post
Lessons Israel-Iran war has for India's Operation Sindoor
India has to learn from Israel the contours of future war, where the enemy could be already well within the gates, wreaking havoc when it is given the signal read more It may be too early to learn lessons from the Israel-Iran war, but there are certainly some quick takeaways for India. Because Operation Sindoor is not over, and terrorism from Pakistan is unlikely to end as long as the army is in control there. Don't forget also that everyone is watching the war calibration carefully. Lessons will be learnt by all sides in this for their own purposes. And that's where we need to think and analyse and plan for the future. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Deep Intelligence The first aspect of the war is that Israel had access to precise intelligence on the ground in terms of a continuous feed. Fodrow, Natanz and others were static bases and needed no great intelligence capability. But the targeting of some 14 scientists is a different game altogether. Reports indicate that the majority were killed by explosive-laden drones, indicating a very high level of internal penetration into Iran. Israel has always had a formidable intelligence capability. But this was something else, and it's an open question what kind of deep assets it used when the 'go' command was given. For depend upon this. Such assets are not built overnight. That is worrying in terms of future wars. That means India has to not just up its technical intelligence for the future but also use technology to guard against such locally launched attacks – which could be on intel agencies, on high officials, and on personnel of sensitive installations. So far, the thrust of defence expenditure has been in securing the country's borders. Time to look inwards. Sindoor as Template The second aspect is rather the reverse. In many ways, the US operation, 'Midnight Hammer', was a textbook copy of 'Operation Sindoor'. Trump's announcement of having targeted 'only' nuclear sites, clear signs of talking to Iranians, and most of all, a series of moves to end the war quickly, something that the US is not known for. Those moves included allowing China to continue to buy oil – though sanctions remain – thus ensuring that outside powers did not take a hand. Iran was mollified by leaving open the possibility of sanctions relief. Then was his weighing heavily on Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, to end his continuing strikes. Since the US could at any time stop its missile interception assistance for Israel, this arm-twisting was likely to have had a telling effect. The Standoff War Another takeaway from both operations is the 'stand-off' wars. Prior to US entry into Iran, Washington made sure that Israel had managed complete air superiority with bombing and missile raids. Even then it used a formidable array of aircraft that included the famed Stealth B-2's, practically invisible to radar, and fighter aircraft from its many bases in West Asia. And to make trebly sure, some 'two dozen' land-attack cruise missiles were fired from a submarine which was entirely undetected, at Isfahan. All attacks were at the extreme west of Iran, indicating that aircraft had no intention of doing a flyby and 'loitering' in the war zone. The blueprint of overwhelming force is used since even one aircraft lost would have been the political end for President Trump. No cities were hit, and US intel would have known full well that the major sites had been evacuated. But the lesson is that when there are no serious casualties, escalation is unlikely. This was also the case in Sindoor, where casualties were few. India did not have such a luxury of a package of aircraft (not to mention bases from where fighters could take off and provide protective cover), nor did it even enter Pakistan. But both provide a lesson in 'stand-off' wars. That means a line of technology development that includes, vitally, the ability of continuous satellite monitoring. India's own space programmes need to take note, and quickly. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Control of the Narrative Another issue to assess is control of the narrative. Even today, the imagery that is being discussed all over the internet is that of Iran. The damages to Israel were kept under wraps, with even the last missile strike by Iran, which mowed down three buildings at Beersheba, with casualties estimated at 4, which seems incredible given the clearly apparent destruction. But Israelis have long been used to violence and have safe rooms, standard procedures for quick evacuation and bunkers. What was hidden even more was the cost that Israel had to take on, with one estimate putting this at $3 billion in immediate costs, while tax authorities estimate costs at more than double the sum of claims stemming from the October 7 attack plus all 615 days since. And that's just claims for damages to property. Apart from this is the loss of man hours and its effect on gross domestic product. But the point is that none of this was apparent in an independent media, with the opposition swiftly putting aside rivalry in a show of national solidarity. It was only after a truce was declared that the Opposition lambasted Trump for interfering in the criminal charges against Netanyahu, which began in 2020 for fraud and breach of trust. Israel, like India, enjoyed widespread support after the first Hamas attack, which, however, rapidly deteriorated as its war entered its 629th day. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even the recent meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation saw a split – as did the G-7 meeting – over the question of the Iran war. In the end, the general consensus is that Iran can still make the bomb, perhaps in months. The takeaway of this lesson is probably that warmaking seldom wins friends and, in today's world, may not even deliver desired objectives. Far better to build up a narrative, as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh did recently when he refused to sign on to a joint statement of the Shanghai Organisation Cooperation while calling out the double standards on terrorism. But overall, here's the sum of it all. Internally, India has managed Kashmir without inordinate use of force; in fact, with 'one hand tied behind its back'. That, together with the manifold changes after the revocation of Article 370, had integrated Kashmir to the rest of India even more, not the other way around. That's something Tel Aviv should learn. But India has to, in turn, learn from Israel the contours of future war, where the enemy could be already well within the gates, wreaking havoc when it is given the signal. In this, both Pakistan and China are better placed than India. Time to reverse that, either with human assets – which are difficult for obvious reasons – and with technology. Future iterations of Operation Sindoor need to keep this clearly in the forefront. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The author is Director (R&A) at the Centre for Land Warfare Studies. She tweets @kartha_tara. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect Firstpost's views.
Hindustan Times
15 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
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Time of India
15 minutes ago
- Time of India
Iranians CHANT ‘Death To US & Israel' At Funeral For Commanders, Nuclear Scientists Killed In War
Iranians chanted 'Death To America' and 'Death To Israel' at 'historic' state funeral for military commanders and nuclear scientists. Social media footage showed Iranians donning black clothes, marching through streets of Tehran behind coffins of around 60 people with Iranian flags. Coffins draped in the Iranian flag, bearing portraits of deceased commanders, were flanked by crowds near Tehran's Enghelab Square. Watch for more details.
