An extensive Wall Street Journal investigation exposes details of the sophisticated covert operation Israeli Mossad executed in advance of attacking Iran – a multi-year effort to smuggle hundreds of explosive-equipped drones into Iranian territory through commercial channels while positioning trained operatives near air defense installations and missile launch facilities. Israeli teams neutralized dozens of missiles before launch, creating conditions that enabled F-35 aircraft to operate with impunity, explaining the surprisingly limited scope of Iran's retaliatory response.
Before Israel's advanced F-35 fighter jets arrived to target Iran's nuclear facilities and military command structure, a less sophisticated but equally effective technological threat had already infiltrated Iranian territory and established positions to clear the operational path. Israel dedicated months to smuggling components for hundreds of quadcopter drones equipped with explosives – utilizing suitcases, commercial trucks, and shipping containers – alongside ammunition designed for unmanned platform deployment, according to the comprehensive investigation.
Video: Mossad's operations inside Iran / Credit: PMO/Mossad
Compact teams equipped with sophisticated technology established positions near Iran's air defense installations and missile launch complexes. When Israeli operations commenced, some teams engaged air defense systems while others targeted missile launchers during their preparation phases.
An operation that secured air superiority
The operation provides crucial context for understanding the constrained nature of Iran's response to Israeli attacks. It also demonstrates how commercially available technology is transforming modern warfare and creating unprecedented security challenges for nation-states.
Mossad's operation aimed to neutralize threats to Israeli combat aircraft and disable missile systems before they could target Israeli population centers. Operatives on the ground struck dozens of missiles before their launch during the opening hours of the offensive. The Israeli Air Force simultaneously concentrated heavily on air defense and missile systems during the campaign's initial phase.
Iran eventually launched approximately 200 missiles toward Israel across four separate salvos on Friday and overnight into Saturday, resulting in casualties, injuries, and significant property damage. Israel had anticipated a substantially more severe response, according to Sima Shine, a former senior Mossad intelligence officer who currently directs the Iran program at the Institute for National Security Studies.
"We expected much more," Shine said. "But that doesn't mean we won't receive much more today or tomorrow." The strikes against Iranian air defenses proved more decisive, enabling Israel to rapidly establish aerial dominance.
70 fighter jets operated for more than two hours
IDF Spokesperson Effie Defrin reported Saturday that Israel struck targets in Tehran overnight using 70 fighter jets that maintained operations for more than two hours within Iran's capital airspace. "This represents the deepest operational distance we have achieved so far in Iran," Defrin said. "We established aerial freedom of action."

An advisory from Iranian intelligence services distributed Saturday through various state newspapers, including the Revolutionary Guard-affiliated Tasnim news outlet, warned citizens to monitor for Israeli use of pickup trucks and cargo vehicles for drone launches.
Israel systematically integrates ambitious intelligence operations as fundamental components of its military strategy. It initiated the autumn campaign against Hezbollah with an operation that caused thousands of pagers and communication devices carried by operatives to detonate simultaneously. Israel also demonstrated that its agents achieved deep penetration into Iran. Last summer, Israel assassinated Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh by infiltrating a bomb into his quarters at a Revolutionary Guard facility and detonating it during his attendance at Iran's new president's inauguration ceremony.
Preparations spanning multiple years
Throughout the current campaign, Mossad operations inside Iran encompassed hunting for leadership targets in Tehran. Drones represented a consistent element of Israel's Iranian operations. In 2022, it deployed explosive-laden quadcopters to attack an Iranian drone manufacturing facility in the western city of Kermanshah. The following year, it utilized drones to target an ammunition production facility in Isfahan.
Mossad initiated preparations for the current drone operation years in advance. It possessed intelligence regarding Iran's missile storage locations but required positioning to attack them, considering the country's vast size and distance from Israel.
Mossad imported the quadcopters through commercial channels, frequently utilizing unknowing business partners. Field agents collected the munitions and distributed them to operational teams. Israel trained team leaders in third countries, who subsequently trained their respective teams.
Teams observed as Iran deployed missiles, then engaged them before they could be positioned for launch. Mossad understood that trucks transporting missiles from storage to launch sites represented a critical bottleneck for Iran, which possessed four times more missiles than transport vehicles. Teams eliminated dozens of trucks and continued operations deep into Friday.
The operations and their public disclosure create another significant impact, Shine explained. "No one in Iran's senior leadership can be certain they are not known to Israeli intelligence and will not become a target," she said. "It's not merely the damage inflicted but the psychological anxiety it generates."