The former head of the Israeli Mossad, David Barnea, revealed new details about the Israeli military operation against Iran, as well as the attacks that occurred in 2024 through the detonation of “pager” devices targeting Hezbollah members in Lebanon.
Barnea explained, in a speech he delivered during the “Priority Summit” conference, that the Mossad deliberately published an official video clip showing its members carrying out missions inside Iran, on the morning of the first day of “Operation Rising Lion,” which is a military campaign launched by Israel in June 2025 against Iranian nuclear and military targets, according to the Israeli Ynet News website.
He said that the video clip, which clearly highlighted the Mossad logo, was not only intended to publicize the operation, but was also intended to confuse the Iranian security services by overwhelming them with a list of potential suspects, making it difficult for them to identify the real Israeli agents.
Barnea pointed out: “One of the reasons that prompted us to release an official video - bearing the Mossad logo - on the morning of (Operation Rising Lion) was to protect the agents who were present there. We wanted to ensure that so many people were detained in Iran that they would no longer be able to distinguish between wheat and wheat, which would eventually force them to release everyone. This is exactly what happened.”
According to Barnea, Iranian authorities arrested 21,000 people on the second day of fighting.
He continued his speech, according to the Israeli news site: “You have to imagine that when you arrest 21,000 people, even if you arrest one or two agents, in the end you will have to release them all. Because everyone's story will be the same: I was walking on the street, or I was driving my car, and they arrested me. In the end, they released everyone.”
Barnea explained how Israeli intelligence sought to protect its agents inside Iran, and talked about the tense moments that preceded the bombing of the pager devices in Lebanon, and the strategic calculations that stood behind both operations.
The former head of the Israeli Mossad also stated that some of the people who were arrested or executed in Iran on charges of working for Israeli intelligence had no connection to the Mossad.
He said: “With regard to some people who are executed by hanging in Iran on charges of being Mossad agents, I wonder: Who are these people? The response comes: Listen, we ourselves do not know.
He described these people as innocents who were wrongly classified by the Iranian authorities as agents of Israel.
He said: “They are just unlucky people who decided that they were our agents, when they had never worked for the Mossad, and most likely had never worked for any other intelligence service.”
Barnea claimed that 99.9 percent of Mossad agents were never detected. He added that the members who participated in the operation continued to live in Tehran, despite their involvement in that Israeli operation.
A confrontation broke out between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Army Chief of Staff over a policy directive regarding Iran, shortly before tense Israeli elections, a local TV channel reported Sunday night.
The Hebrew Channel 12 report caused a state of anxiety in Israeli circles, prompting Netanyahu's main competitor in tomorrow's elections, Tuesday, Gadi Eisenkot, to announce his support for Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, according to the American Associated Press.
This dissatisfaction reflected fears within Israel that Netanyahu, the longest serving prime minister, might resort to the option of attacking Iran before the elections, in an effort to maintain his position.
Netanyahu described the Channel 12 report as nonsense during an appearance on Channel 14, while there was no immediate comment from the army.
The Channel 12 report did not mention the directive specifically related to Iran. In recent days, the Prime Minister has stressed the need to “overthrow” the Iranian leadership.
The Israeli Prime Minister repeated his warning that Iran or its proxies may launch an attack before Tuesday's elections to disrupt the vote, citing intelligence information.
He said in a video statement: “(The army) is prepared to both defend and attack,” adding: “You will receive disproportionate strikes that are much greater than you can imagine.”
