New details are emerging about one of the most sophisticated operations conducted by Israel’s security establishment during the initial moments of Operation Rising Lion (“Am KaLavi”). According to a report by the Jewish Chronicle and confirmed by security sources, Israel successfully lured top Iranian Air Force commanders directly into a planned trap and eliminated them in a single strike.
According to the report, which also referenced statements by Amit Segal on the “Call Me Back” podcast, Israeli intelligence agencies created a false internal alert within Iran. This triggered an emergency meeting of dozens of senior commanders from the Revolutionary Guards’ Air Force in a bunker near Tehran. Among the attendees were the branch commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, his deputies, and senior technology officers.
No Missiles Without a Launch Order
While the entire air command echelon gathered in one place, Israel carried out a precise airstrike on the bunker. According to sources, all attendees were killed on the spot, with the aim of neutralizing the ability to launch over 1,000 ballistic missiles toward Israeli territory—an attack Iran had been planning to initiate soon after. “There was no one left to give the launch order,” Segal explained in the podcast, a description confirmed by security officials.
The Bait Worked—and the Follow-Up Was Swift
According to the report, the entire operation was based on a meticulously executed disinformation campaign carried out by the Mossad’s special operations unit. The false information was fed through internal Iranian channels, created the impression of an urgent security threat, and caused the top air force command to gather at a location Israel had pre-designated.
Immediately after the strike, the operation was completed with another wave of airstrikes by the Israeli Air Force, targeting missile launchers, command and control sites, air defense infrastructure, and long-range strike systems across Iran.
“We Understood Their Patterns and Used Them Against Them”
A senior security official told Fox News: “We deciphered their decision-making patterns and created conditions that would lead the commanders to gather, and then ensured they wouldn’t leave.” According to him, immediately following the bunker strike, a large-scale UAV attack was launched, marking one of the most sophisticated strategic moves carried out in the confrontation with Iran.
