At 3am this morning, we were awakened by the sound of an alarm, different in pitch to the usual ones to which we are subjected when the Houthis decide to get trigger happy (or rather when Iran decides they should get trigger happy).
The alarm was to to alert us to the fact that a major offensive (named Operation Rising Lion) was underway against Iran, and Iranian retaliation was expected.
Here’s what we know so far:
Israel launched a widespread attack on Iran aimed at targets including its nuclear facilities, military commanders and scientists, claiming it took unilateral action because Tehran had begun to build nuclear warheads. Israel said 200 Israeli fighter jets participated in the operation, striking 100 targets.
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Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facility at Natanz was hit, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. It is unclear how much damage was done, but video footage posted online appears to show the aftermath of massive explosions. Natanz is partially above ground, with halls of centrifuges spinning uranium gas for its nuclear programme.
Quoting Iranian authorities, the IAEA said a number of other key Iranian sites – including the Fordow nuclear enrichment site, the Isfahan nuclear site and the Bushehr nuclear power plant – had not been hit.
Israel said it had destroyed dozens of radar installations and surface-to-air missile launchers.
Sites in the capital, Tehran, were hit, including the headquarters of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guards, one of the main power centres within the country’s theocracy.
Iranian state media said the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Gen Hossein Salami, the army chief of staff, Maj Gen Mohammad Bagheri, and the commander of the Khatam al-Anbia joint forces headquarters, Maj Gen Gholamali Rashid, had been killed in the strikes, as well as six nuclear scientists, including Fereydoun Abbasi, the head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization from 2011 to 2013.
Iran has fired about 100 drones at Israel, as the country’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, threatened “severe punishment”. Iraq said more than 100 Iranian drones had crossed its airspace, and a short time later neighbouring Jordan said its air force and defence systems had intercepted several missiles and drones that had entered its airspace for fear they would fall in its territory.
More details are coming out regarding the operation, which if true, show its brilliance:
Israel spent years preparing for the operation against Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, a security official tells The Times of Israel, including building a drone base inside Iran and smuggling precision weapons systems and commandos into the country.
The effort hinged on tight joint planning between the IDF and the Mossad intelligence agency.
According to the official, Mossad agents set up a drone base on Iranian soil near Tehran. The drones were activated overnight, striking surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel.
In addition, vehicles carrying weapons systems were smuggled into Iran.
These systems took out Iran’s air defenses and gave Israeli planes air supremacy and freedom of action over Iran.
The third covert effort was Mossad commandos deploying precision missiles near anti-aircraft sites in central Iran.
The operations relied on “groundbreaking thinking, bold planning and surgical operation of advanced technologies, special forces and agents operating in the heart of Iran while totally evading the eyes of local intelligence,” says the official.
And there’s more:
Israel deliberately labeled Thursday night’s security-cabinet meeting as a discussion on hostage negotiations in order to lull Tehran and green-light the pre-dawn strike inside Iran, a senior Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post on Friday.
According to the official, ministers were briefed in advance that the agenda would focus on the stalled talks for the release of Israelis held in Gaza. “The aim was to put Iran to sleep,” the source said.
Once inside the secure forum, the cabinet unanimously approved the military operation and every minister signed a strict non-disclosure agreement, known as a Shomer Sod (“guardian of the secret”) document.
Only a handful of officials—including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, Mossad director David (Dedi) Barnea and senior defense chiefs—were read into the full plan.
In the days leading up to the strike, the Prime Minister’s Office orchestrated a series of false signals:
- Vacation ruse: Netanyahu’s aides briefed reporters that he was planning a family holiday in the Galilee and would be attending his son Avner’s wedding next Tuesday, reinforcing the impression that no major military action was imminent.
- Washington decoy: The PMO issued a statement claiming that Dermer and Barnea would fly to Washington on Friday to meet US envoy Steve Witkoff for a “sixth round” of Iran-US nuclear talks in Oman— talks that do not exist. Both men remained in Israel.
- Leak strategy: For the first time, Netanyahu’s office declined to deny fabricated quotes describing a dispute between the prime minister and former US president Donald Trump over a potential strike, creating the sense of a diplomatic rift and further lowering Iranian alert levels.
The deception campaign unfolded against a backdrop of domestic political drama over the IDF draft law and speculation that the coalition might collapse. “It was the perfect smoke screen,” the source said, adding that US officials were fully briefed despite the public theatrics.
Channel 12 journalist Amit Segal noted on X that Trump had publicly given Iran “60 days to reach a deal” on April 12. “Today is day 61,” he wrote, hinting that the deadline factored into Jerusalem’s timing.
Israeli defense officials believe the element of surprise maximized the operation’s impact and may buy Israel critical time as Iran edges closer to nuclear breakout capability.
I also believe the name of the operation might be part of its brilliance.
Here’s hoping and praying for its speedy success and the safety of my fellow Israelis, Jews worldwide, and the innocent Iranian people.
