How Israel Built a Secret Drone Army Inside Iran That Humiliated the Mullahs and Crippled Their Nuclear Program |

In a startling revelation, Israeli officials have confirmed the existence of a clandestine drone base operated by Mossad within Iran’s borders. This covert facility has reportedly facilitated precision strikes that have significantly hampered Iran’s nuclear ambitions and taken out key leaders within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

On June 13, 2025, Israel launched Operation Rising Lion, an extensive air and drone strike campaign aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities, military resources, and senior commanders. This operation, involving over 200 aircraft and 330 munitions targeting more than 100 sites, marks the most substantial offensive against Iran since the 1980s. However, its significance extends beyond sheer scale; the operation’s ingenuity stemmed from its covert operations, as Israeli intelligence had discreetly positioned drone systems within Iran, allowing precision strikes to neutralize air defenses before the first Israeli jets crossed the border.

The operation’s strategy unfolded in three main phases, each representing a shift in modern military tactics:

Phase 1: Activation of Pre-Positioned Assets
Months prior to the operation, Israeli commandos had strategically embedded precision-guided drones and explosives within Iran, including locations around Tehran. These hidden systems, shielded from radar due to their internal placement, were activated to target air-defense systems and communication nodes. This overwhelmed Iran’s early-warning capabilities, triggering a phenomenon known as “operational dislocation.”

Phase 2: Vehicle-Based Strike Systems
Disguised as civilian vehicles, Israeli-embedded launch platforms executed strikes on crucial defensive targets. This tactic dismantled air defenses from within, thereby facilitating the entry of Israeli aircraft.

Phase 3: Conventional Air Campaign
More than 200 Israeli fighter jets, many of which were advanced F-35 Adirs equipped with standoff munitions, engaged in precise strikes against over 100 nuclear and military sites. With Iran’s command and control systems disrupted, Israeli aircraft operated with remarkable freedom.

The operation was the culmination of years of meticulous intelligence preparation and a dominance in real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR). A senior Israeli security official remarked, “The Mossad involved a vast network of operatives, deeply embedded within Iran, functioning at the highest levels of penetration imaginable. Some of these agents received commando training to execute mission-critical operations.”

Perhaps the most striking aspect was Israel’s ability to integrate autonomous weapons systems directly within Iran. Mossad operatives established covert drone and missile launch sites adjacent to key military assets, including a confirmed base close to Tehran. These internal systems executed strikes on surface-to-surface missile launchers overnight, neutralizing threats before the main assault was initiated. Officials now classify this internal strike capability as one of the operation’s most audacious and effective components.

Among those eliminated were prominent figures such as IRGC commander Hossein Salami, Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Mohammad Bagheri, IRGC Aerospace Force commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and nuclear scientists Fereydoon Abbasi and Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi. The majority of the IRGC Air Force leadership was decimated in an underground command center—a decapitation strike that eradicated decades of institutional knowledge in a single operation.

Critical nuclear sites, including Natanz, Fordow, and Khondab, suffered extensive damage, with strikes occurring across key provinces such as Tehran, Kermanshah, Tabriz, Esfahan, and Hamadan. Prime Minister Netanyahu asserted that the attacks have postponed Iran’s nuclear program by years, although independent verification of this claim remains pending.

The strikes also targeted vital components of Iran’s energy infrastructure, including the South Pars gas field and Fajr Jam refinery, indicating Israel’s readiness to strike both military and economic lifelines.

Operation Rising Lion stands as a testament to the legacy of meticulously orchestrated Mossad operations. It echoes the 1970s, where Operation Bayonet, also known as “Wrath of God,” systematically pursued Black September operatives linked to the 1972 Munich massacre, eliminating them across Europe and the Middle East over two decades. In September 2024, Mossad executed a sophisticated supply-chain sabotage that resulted in the remote detonation of thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies, crippling militant communications and causing numerous casualties.

Following the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, Mossad accelerated its high-value targeting initiatives. On January 2, 2024, a drone strike in Beirut took out Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri along with senior military officials. Then on April 1, 2024, an airstrike on Iran’s consulate annex in Damascus eliminated Mohammad Reza Zahedi, a top Quds Force general, and much of the IRGC command structure in Syria.

These impactful missions have culminated in Operation Rising Lion, a campaign redefining contemporary conflict through deep infiltration, autonomous strike capabilities, and synchronized execution in real-time. Analysts now cite it as a potential framework for future operations—illustrating how precision technology and human intelligence can dismantle fortified targets more swiftly than traditional incursions. In a revival of World War II–era “ungentlemanly warfare,” Israel has supplanted sabotage teams and bomber raids with stealth drones and fifth-generation fighters, establishing a new paradigm for strategic surprise.