Spike Missiles That Destroyed Air Defenses From Inside Iran Were Remotely Operated
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As Israel’s Operation Rising Lion campaign enters its fifth day, Iranian officials claim they’ve uncovered new evidence of how Mossad operatives carried out attacks from inside the country using missiles and drones, at least some of which helped suppress Iranian air defenses. This is the latest in long-standing Israeli operations using weapons smuggled inside Iran, a senior IDF official told us. You can catch up with the latest installment of our coverage of the Israeli attack and the Iranian response dubbed Operation True Promise III, here.
In new images published on Iranian media, authorities there showcased what they say are remnants of Rafael Spike precision-guided missile systems left behind after being used in the initial phase of Israel’s ongoing campaign to neuter Iran’s nuclear and long-range weapons capabilities. At least some of those systems were operated remotely, according to Iranian officials, representing another leap forward in Israel’s ability to use systems set up in Iran to attack from afar.
“Iranian intelligence forces have discovered customized Spike missile launchers…designed to suppress Iran’s air defenses, equipped with internet-based automation and remote control systems,” the official Iranian Press TV news outlet reported on Telegram on Monday. “They were operated by terrorist Mossad agents.”
Fars published images of some of those components.
(Fars)
(Via X)
(Fars)
The images released by Iran on Monday seem to verify what we previously wrote about the mission in which Mossad operatives worked to move “special weapons on a large scale, deploy them throughout Iran, and launch them towards the attack targets in a precise and effective manner.” They show an array of hardware scattered across a dirt area. These include launchers, a number of radio and computer hardware components, and a small EO/IR turret on a turret mount. These systems appear to have allowed operatives to fire and guide the weapons without being present at the site.
We pointed out that video footage emerging on social media apparently showed Israeli commandos on the ground in Iran operating Spike precision-guided missiles.
As we noted, “Spike, specifically the Non-Line-Of-Sight (NLOS) version, would be an ideal weapon for the sort of mission pulled off by Mossad inside Iran, since it can be launched from behind cover. It can be employed in a ‘fire and forget’ mode or using man-in-the-loop guidance. In this way, the missile can also be used to reconnoiter targets before striking them, with extreme precision, as well.”
You can see that video below.
Images of Mossad operatives in Iran conducting strikes overnight. Appear to possibly use Spike ATGMs to hit air defence assets. https://t.co/01v0na4rbx
There is precedent for claims that Israel has used remote weapons systems inside Iran. In November 2020, Iranian officials said that Israel killed top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh using a gun in either a remote-controlled or entirely automated mount on a pickup truck, with no actual human assassins involved.
You can see images of the aftermath of that attack below.
In addition to the Spike system remnants, investigators say they found what they claim was a three-story Israeli drone factory in a building in Shahr-e Ray, located south of the Iranian capital.
“The three [story] building was used by Israeli agents to assemble and store UAVs intended for terrorist operations,” the semi-official Tasnim news outlet stated on X. “Officials also found homemade bombs and over 200 kg of explosives.”
Security forces located a clandestine drone-manufacturing site in Shahr-e Rey, south of Tehran. The three floors building, was used by Israeli agents to assemble and store UAVs intended for terrorists operations. Officials also found homemade bombs and over 200 kg of explosives. pic.twitter.com/wrZz1vc12x
The discovery of this drone factory was made after investigators received “a public report of suspicious movements at a residential home,” the official Iranian Fars news outlet reported on Telegram.
Video from the scene showed at least one drone, drone wings and other components, as well as controllers, on tables and shelves in one room of the building, as well as an Ender 3D printer. In Ukraine, both sides have often used these devices to produce drone components like propellers.
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Iranian state TV: An Israeli three-story drone manufacturing workshop has been discovered in Tehran.
In addition to the drone production facility near Tehran, Iranian officials in Isfahan, about 200 miles south of the capital, claim they also found a “drone equipment manufacturing workshop” there.
“Police officers, through careful monitoring and intelligence, learned of the storage of equipment and parts for drone and micro-aircraft manufacturing in a workshop near Isfahan city and immediately took action for a more detailed investigation,” the deputy police chief of Isfahan said, according to the official Iranian Fars news agency. “Four suspects were arrested in this operation. Large amounts of equipment and parts for making drones and micro-aircraft were discovered at the location.”
Isfahan is home to Iran’s nuclear technology center, however, Fars did not specify the targets of these drones or whether any were actually launched.
Fars published an image of what appears to be remnants of one of those drones.
A section from what Iranian authorities say are drones found in an Israeli manufacturing facility in Isfahan, Iran. (Fars)
A senior IDF official told The War Zone that Israel has long carried out these kinds of operations inside Iran.
“I can confirm that for years, the Mossad and other Israeli covert forces have been operating facilities for assembling drones, UAVs, and various types of precision-guided missiles designed for manual launch from the ground,” said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details. “For years, they’ve successfully smuggled raw materials and assembled weapon systems inside Tehran itself. I don’t have information regarding whether these facilities have been exposed, but in any case, their exposure is currently irrelevant, as they are no longer in use. Nevertheless, there’s no doubt that these operations were a game-changer—both in terms of targeted operations and, more significantly, in achieving air superiority, since the operation began.”
These Israeli attacks from inside echo recent actions by Ukraine’s State Security Service (SBU), which launched one-way attack drones from within Russian territory during Operation Spiderweb at the start of this month. In that operation, drones concealed within trucks were launched in a coordinated attack on strategic bombers on different airfields deep within Russia, as you can read about here. The use of covertly launched drones to take out strategic targets in their vicinity in a long-planned and closely coordinated attack has significant parallels with what we are now seeing happen in Iran.
You can see Ukraine’s Operation Spiderweb unfold in the following video.
СБУ показала унікальні кадри спецоперації «Павутина», у результаті якої уражено 41 військовий літак стратегічної авіації рф
Officials in Tehran say they have also uncovered new Mossad-related actions inside Iran and arrested suspects tied to the spy organization.
“Iran’s security forces in Delfan, Lorestan arrested 5 Mossad-linked foreign terrorists carrying explosive-laden suicide drones intended to be used in Israeli terror attacks on Iranian civilians across the country,” the official Iranian Press TV news outlet claimed. “Two trucks loaded with drones and explosives, belonging to and operated by Mossad terrorists, were captured in Iran’s Lorestan Province following public reports to the intelligence services.”
Iran’s intelligence also detained “several Mossad-linked terrorists who were planning a terror operation from a half-constructed building, following reports from vigilant citizens,” Press TV reported.
Iran arrested suspects in what it claims were new attempted attacks from inside the country by Mossad-linked operatives. (Press TV)
Amid the arrests of individuals suspected of helping Mossad and the discovery of the Spike components and drone factories, Iranian officials issued a warning to anyone thinking of helping Israel.
“My message to traitors is that if you feel you have been deceived by the enemy, there is still time to return,” Ahmad-Razan Radan, chief of Iran’s National Police, said, according to Fars. “If you introduce yourself voluntarily, you can benefit from the mercy of the Islamic Republic system. Otherwise, just as the enemy is receiving a response in the field, you will also learn a lesson.”
It’s probably unlikely that such warnings will hamper Mossad’s recruitment efforts, especially with the disarray caused by airstrikes and Israel’s commitment to end Iran’s nuclear and long-range missile programs once and for all.
