'500 kg of nuclear blueprint': How Mossad 2018 op EXPOSED Iran's nuclear ambitions, triggering Operation Rising Lion
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'500 kg of nuclear blueprint': How Mossad 2018 op EXPOSED Iran's nuclear ambitions, triggering Operation Rising Lion")
How Mossad 2018 op EXPOSED Iran's nuclear ambitions Photograph: (Reuters)
A small team of Israeli Mossad agents infiltrated a nondescript warehouse in southern Tehran on the night of January 31, 2018.
The June 13 Israel attack on Iran was not just planned a night before the operation but took years of planning and efforts. It all goes back to 2018, when Israel's national intelligence agency Mossad, in a covert operation, stole 500 kg of nuclear documents from a Tehran warehouse.
Israel launched "Operation Rising Lion" on June 13 with "pre-emptive strikes" on Iran, attacking its nuclear facilities, while also killing top military officials and nuclear scientists. But it didn't happen overnight, rather, Mossad was planning it since long back.
A small team of Israeli Mossad agents infiltrated a nondescript warehouse in southern Tehran on the night of January 31, 2018. They had 6 hours and 29 minutes to carry the whole operation as only during this window, it was not guarded as the morning guard was expected to arrive after those 6 hours. They knew all this after conducting an year of surveillance.
What did they steal?
The Mossad agents stole 50,000 pages and 163 CDs containing blueprints, technical diagrams, photographs, memos, and plans. It was all related to Iran's nuclear weapons programme, which has been denied by them so far.
The agents prioritised binders marked with bomb designs and warhead development. They used torches that could melt through 32 safes, to enter the warehouse. All the material they carried to Israel, weighed half a tonne (55 kg).
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For years, they have been mapping guard routines, with proper planning, surveillance, and calculations. They even studied alarm systems and neutralised them without detection.
Later, a senior Israeli intelligence official described the mission as feeling like a scene from George Clooney's "Ocean 11".
No one noticed the theft, until the next morning when the guard found the doors broken and vaults emptied.
The documents carried by Mossad, some dating back to "Project Amad", allegedly showed secret testing, warhead miniaturisation, and blueprints to fit nuclear devices like Shahab-3 missiles.
Three months later...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu took the stage three months later. He stood beside a stack of black folders and discs, accusing Iran of lying to the world.
The Israeli PM's presentation later help convinced the White House to formally exit the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Later after independent reviews, Western intelligence agencies also agreed.
The documents pointed to Iran's nuclear ambitions. However, Iran dismissed the archive as forged. But, this time there was evidence.
What did it reveal?
The file had references to uranium deuteride, a substance only known for its use in nuclear initiators, and a secret chamber at the Parchin military base, that is suspected to have housed high-explosive tests for nuclear triggers.
It further showed that Iran continued organising and preserving its nuclear knowledge even after the 2015 deal, moving materials to obscure locations and hiding documents from international inspectors and plotting test sites.
Operation Rising Lion
On June 13, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, while also killing top military officials and nuclear scientists.
The situation has spiralled quickly, with missile and drone attacks from both sides. Although the United States says it is not directly involved, it has helped defend Israeli airspace using missile systems like Patriot and THAAD to intercept incoming Iranian attacks.
