How Mossad Smuggled Iran’s Nuclear Secrets Out of Tehran
In 2018, Mossad’s audacious raid on the Tehran archive exposed Iran’s nuclear aspirations. Seven years later, a terrible war has resulted from those revelations.
Israel launched what it described as a “necessary preemptive action” against Iran in the early hours of June 13. Key military, intelligence, and nuclear facilities around the Islamic Republic were bombarded by more than 100 air and drone attacks. The list of targets resembled a roadmap for Iran’s national defence: secret locations, missile stockpiles, Revolutionary Guard Corps headquarters, and nuclear enrichment facilities.
It was confirmed that at least 224 Iranians had died. Numerous Iranian missile and nuclear installations were destroyed. Mossad allegedly planned the clandestine element, which included high-precision drone strikes deep within Iran’s borders.
Israel asserted that it was powerless. However, this strike did not originate in a war room the previous evening. Years ago, its seeds were sown.
When Iran’s Nuclear Archive Was Stolen by Mossad
A small group of Israeli Mossad agents broke into a plain warehouse in southern Tehran on the evening of January 31, 2018. After a year of monitoring, they were given a window of 6 hours and 29 minutes until the morning guard shift arrived.
They pilfered 163 CDs and 50,000 pages of plans, technical diagrams, photos, memos, and blueprints pertaining to Iran’s long-denied nuclear weapons program.
Binders bearing bomb blueprints and warhead research were given priority by the operatives, who used torches that could melt through 32 safes. A few safes remained unopened. The substance weighed 500 kg, or half a tonne.
The planning was systematic. Routines for the guards were mapped. Alarm systems were examined and silenced covertly. They found the safes that contained “the good stuff.” “The mission felt like a scene from George Clooney’s ‘Ocean’s 11’,” a senior Israeli intelligence official later said.
It wasn’t until AM when the theft was discovered. Iran began a thorough but ultimately fruitless investigation after the guard discovered the vaults emptied and the doors smashed.
The Revelation
Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel, joined the stage three months later. He accused Iran of deceiving the world while standing next to a pile of black folders and CDs.
Supported by a private briefing to then-US President Donald Trump, Netanyahu’s presentation pushed the White House to formally withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. According to reports, the documents, some of which date back to Iran’s purported nuclear weapons program known as “Project Amad,” included schematics for installing nuclear devices into Shahab-3 rockets, warhead miniaturisation, and covert testing.
Following independent reviews, Western intelligence services generally concurred. The records were real and concerning. Additionally, they demonstrated that Iran’s nuclear aspirations were more sophisticated than previously thought.
Iran’s Reaction
Iran rejected the archive as a fake. However, there was proof. References to uranium deuteride, a material solely known to be used in nuclear initiators, and a covert room at Parchin military base that may have contained high-explosive experiments for nuclear triggers were among the most damaging documents.
The pilfered collection also demonstrated that, despite the 2015 agreement, Iran plotted test sites, moved items to secret places, and concealed records from international inspectors in order to continue organising and conserving its nuclear expertise.
Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and Masoud Ali Mohammadi were among the prominent Iranian nuclear scientists who were killed throughout the years, frequently by surgical strikes or unexplained explosions. Although Israel has never formally accepted culpability, many people suspect it.
In retaliation, Iran has deployed its proxy networks throughout the Middle East, launched cyberattacks, and targeted Israeli officials.
The Israel-Iran War, June 2025
The long-brewing shadow war erupted into open warfare on June 13. Iran fired more than 100 drones and ballistic missiles against Israeli cities after Israel’s strikes. Parts of Tel Aviv were among the civilian areas that were affected. There were hundreds injured and at least 14 Israelis murdered. Israel’s renowned Iron Dome security system was breached by multiple missiles. Day 7 has begun, and the fight is still going strong.
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