Latest news with #BICOM
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mossad agents in secret mission to blow up Iranian missiles
Mossad agents snuck into Iran and set up a factory to build explosive drones that were used to cripple Tehran's air defences ahead of Friday's strikes, intelligence officials said. The drones were activated and used to attack missile launchers pointed at Israel as the IDF launched its overnight raid aimed at crippling Iran's nuclear programme. The operation, which would have been years in the making, has the hallmarks of the Mossad intelligence agency, which is famed for its clandestine activities. It would have involved Israeli intelligence agents sneaking into Iran to build the base well in advance of Friday's attack, pre-empting Iran's probable retaliation. Vehicles carrying weapons systems were also smuggled into Iran, a security official told The Times of Israel. By destroying Iran's air defences, the explosive drones gave Israeli planes supremacy in the skies and freedom to carry out Friday's air strikes that killed several top generals while hitting about 100 targets including nuclear facilities. Credit: Mossad via Sent Defender / X Pre-deployed Mossad commando units were indeed working inside Iran, said the British-Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM). Mossad units 'were involved in launching precision-guided munitions that targeted Iranian surface-to-air missiles, other air defences, as well as ground-to-ground missiles that would have been used in a retaliatory strike against Israel', BICOM said. Footage emerged purporting to show exactly those activities – Israeli agents setting guided missile launchers that were then used to take out Iran's air defences. The operatives also launched surface-to-surface missiles and explosive drones at targets near Tehran, including a truck carrying missiles, the footage suggests. The black-and-white footage shows armed figures with their faces pixelated, crouching in an area of open ground. Israeli intelligence officials have said publication of the material was designed to illustrate the breadth and depth of Israel's clandestine capabilities and to discourage escalation. If what Israeli authorities are claiming is indeed true, it is a stunning demonstration of strategic capabilities in what amounted to a multi-pronged attack combining surveillance, intelligence and firepower. It also shows how far Israel is willing to go in confronting Tehran and its potential nuclear threat. 'Emerging reports about more unconventional activity by Mossad are a reminder of Israel's expertise in covert operations, its penetration of the Iranian security establishment and its agility in planning ahead with imaginative operations which can be executed at short notice,' said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute. Setting up such key secret attack infrastructure within the territory of Iran, Israel's number one rival, would probably have involved multiple undercover missions. Credit: Reuters It would also have required targeted intelligence of where exactly Iran's own military and weapons infrastructure was located, allowing the accurate placement of various weapons systems to hit those strategic targets. The attack has killed at least three of Iran's most powerful men – including its most senior military leadership – further crippling the Islamic Republic's ability. It has not only suffered a blow to its missile capabilities but it has now also lost significant architects that would have designed and executed a response. 'The breadth and scale of these strikes…suggest this operation is intended to not just dissuade Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, but also cripple any potential military response and even to destabilise the regime,' said Mr Savill. Mossad has a history of carrying out bold operations on enemy soil, especially in Iran. In 2020 it helped the US to assassinate Major General Qassim Suleimani, who was Iran's top security and intelligence commander. In 2022, two assassins on motorcycles gunned down Col Sayyad Khodaei, an IRGC officer, and in 2024 Israel killed Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political leader, in Tehran by planting an explosive inside an IRGC guest house. Israel also dismantled the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy in the region, in a series of strikes in 2024. This included elaborate, coordinated attacks that saw thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group detonate, killing dozens and injuring thousands. Mossad had infiltrated the supply line and planted explosives inside the devices 10 years before they were detonated. With its latest strikes, Israel is signalling that far more is to come.'We are a few hours into the operation…. this is something that, when we spoke about it six months ago, seemed like fantasy,' said Maj Gen Oded Basiuk, Israel's head of operations directorate.'Thus achievement is the result of planning, drills and thorough work by those sitting here, and also by those who aren't.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Mossad agents in secret mission to blow up Iranian missiles
Mossad agents snuck into Iran and set up a factory to build explosive drones that were used to cripple Tehran's air defences ahead of Friday's strikes, intelligence officials said. The drones were activated and used to attack missile launchers pointed at Israel as the IDF launched its overnight raid aimed at crippling Iran's nuclear programme. The operation, which would have been years in the making, has the hallmarks of the Mossad intelligence agenc y, which is famed for its clandestine activities. It would have involved Israeli intelligence agents sneaking into Iran to build the base well in advance of Friday's attack, pre-empting Iran's probable retaliation. Vehicles carrying weapons systems were also smuggled into Iran, a security official told The Times of Israel. By destroying Iran's air defences, the explosive drones gave Israeli planes supremacy in the skies and freedom to carry out Friday's air strikes that killed several top generals while hitting about 100 targets including nuclear facilities. Pre-deployed Mossad commando units were indeed working inside Iran, said the British-Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM). Mossad units 'were involved in launching precision-guided munitions that targeted Iranian surface-to-air missiles, other air defences, as well as ground-to-ground missiles that would have been used in a retaliatory strike against Israel', BICOM said. Footage emerged purporting to show exactly those activities – Israeli agents setting guided missile launchers that were then used to take out Iran's air defences. The operatives also launched surface-to-surface missiles and explosive drones at targets near Tehran, including a truck carrying missiles, the footage suggests. The black-and-white footage shows armed figures with their faces pixelated, crouching in an area of open ground. Strategic capabilities Israeli intelligence officials have said publication of the material was designed to illustrate the breadth and depth of Israel's clandestine capabilities and to discourage escalation. If what Israeli authorities are claiming is indeed true, it is a stunning demonstration of strategic capabilities in what amounted to a multi-pronged attack combining surveillance, intelligence and firepower. It also shows how far Israel is willing to go in confronting Tehran and its potential nuclear threat. 'Emerging reports about more unconventional activity by Mossad are a reminder of Israel's expertise in covert operations, its penetration of the Iranian security establishment and its agility in planning ahead with imaginative operations which can be executed at short notice,' said Matthew Savill, director of military sciences at the Royal United Services Institute. Setting up such key secret attack infrastructure within the territory of Iran, Israel's number one rival, would probably have involved multiple undercover missions. It would also have required targeted intelligence of where exactly Iran's own military and weapons infrastructure was located, allowing the accurate placement of various weapons systems to hit those strategic targets. The attack has killed at least three of Iran's most powerful men – including its most senior military leadership – further crippling the Islamic Republic's ability. It has not only suffered a blow to its missile capabilities but it has now also lost significant architects that would have designed and executed a response. 'The breadth and scale of these strikes…suggest this operation is intended to not just dissuade Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, but also cripple any potential military response and even to destabilise the regime,' said Mr Savill. Mossad has a history of carrying out bold operations on enemy soil, especially in Iran. In 2020 it helped the US to assassinate Major General Qassim Suleimani, who was Iran's top security and intelligence commander. In 2022, two assassins on motorcycles gunned down Col Sayyad Khodaei, an IRGC officer, and in 2024 Israel killed Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas's political leader, in Tehran by planting an explosive inside an IRGC guest house. Israel also dismantled the Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy in the region, in a series of strikes in 2024. This included elaborate, coordinated attacks that saw thousands of pagers and walkie-talkies used by the group detonate, killing dozens and injuring thousands. Mossad had infiltrated the supply line and planted explosives inside the devices 10 years before they were detonated. With its latest strikes, Israel is signalling that far more is to come. 'We are a few hours into the operation…. this is something that, when we spoke about it six months ago, seemed like fantasy,' said Maj Gen Oded Basiuk, Israel's head of operations directorate. 'Thus achievement is the result of planning, drills and thorough work by those sitting here, and also by those who aren't.'
The National
27-04-2025
- Politics
- The National
Laura Webster: What happened when I was invited to Israel
Last year, I was asked by some officials representing the state of Israel if I wanted to come on an all-expenses-paid trip to their country to see what it's really like. Organisations like the Britain Israel Communications and Research Centre (BICOM) pay for reporters in the UK to go to Israel. BICOM are not, as they describe themselves, an organisation simply "providing timely and accurate news, analysis and briefings on Israel and the Middle East". If you take one look at their website you'll see very quickly that they exist as a pro-Israel advocacy group, defending the IDF and blindly publishing their press releases. A recent addition to the page focuses on the IDF's killing of 15 emergency aid workers. "Due to poor night visibility, the deputy commander did not initially recognise the vehicles as ambulances," BICOM tells us. Well, that's okay then. We understand now! BICOM has been one of the most active pro-Israel organisations, quietly working behind the scenes to give Israel's side of the story and justify genocide. Back to last year. I didn't accept the invitation. Obviously. I didn't consider it for a fraction of a second. At the time I had no idea which organisation would be carrying out the visits, but a simple rule to live by as a journalist is to say no to free press trips suggested to you by representatives of a state, particularly those that breach international law on such a frequency that you could set your watch to them. I often wondered who would accept the invitation, and whether I would see any articles emerge from it. Sadly, this week I did see UK journalists return from their visits. They wrote what you would expect. I also wonder how many journalists have been on these visits and not disclosed it publicly, while representing a pro-Israel perspective in the media. No Other Land This week I was lucky to catch a screening of Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land at my beloved Glasgow Film Theatre. This exploration of how Israeli forces systemically destroyed a collection of villages in the West Bank was hard to watch, but crucial to see. Some of the footage captured in this film is shocking. One particular scene that keeps replaying in my mind features an IDF soldier suddenly shooting an unarmed villager during an argument over whether he could keep a generator, to at least have access to power after his home was bulldozed. The man, named Harun Abu Aram, was paralysed and later died. Another moment I can't get out of my head saw Israeli forces pour concrete into a well, and destroy infrastructure providing water to the villagers, in an effort to remove them from their homes. The filmmakers behind No Other Land For most people, No Other Land is just a film. They can watch it, feel moved or horrified, and go back to their lives. But for its co-creator Basel Adra and the people it follows, it's reality. In the film, the residents speak regularly of their wish for global media to pay attention to their suffering and help bring it to an end. They tell of how one highly publicised visit from Tony Blair led to a pause in demolitions. Their argument shows exactly why The National is so committed to telling the stories we do. We may not be CNN or BBC level, but maybe we can help in our own small way.
