By Masoud Khalili
On Wednesday, the wall of secrecy surrounding the Israeli regime’s weapons and ambitions cracked again, and this time, it fell on Israeli officials and allies who have spent decades trying to conceal Tel Aviv’s nuclear arsenal and its growing drive for greater destructive power.
Ripples of shock and awe spread after Iran’s Intelligence Minister, Esmail Khatib, in a televised speech, announced the Islamic Republic’s latest and unprecedented intelligence breakthrough.
Striking directly at Zionist regime leaders and their futile quest for deterrence and legitimacy, the revelation unveiled by Iran’s intelligence ministry exposed a massive cache of documents, including millions of pages detailing Israel’s nuclear weapons program with remarkable precision.
According to the minister, the trove includes records of past and current weapons projects, efforts to upgrade and reprocess older arms, and joint ventures with the US and several European states.
It also contains full data on the administrative networks and personnel involved in advancing Tel Aviv’s nuclear arsenal. Khatib added that the ministry had uncovered the identities, connections, and specific roles of 189 senior Israeli nuclear and military experts.
During the broadcasts, viewers were shown personnel cards and photos of individuals actively working on the weapons program, evidently unaware that cameras had captured them in detail.
Astonishingly, Khatib stressed, the revealed list is far from complete.
Contribution to Iran’s wartime retaliation
Khatib revealed that the intelligence cache, containing precise details of sensitive dual-use sites, was handed over to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), allowing them to know exactly where to target during the recent unprovoked war against the Islamic Republic.
According to Major General Yahya Rahim-Safavi, former IRGC commander and senior adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the response involved firing “more than 500 long-range missiles” at the Zionist adversary.
He emphasized that the retaliation displayed “very strong cohesion” between the Leader and the heads of the three main government branches during the imposed war.
Khatib’s remarks shed light on the intelligence ministry’s role in boosting Iran’s wartime response, highlighting the unique blend of strategic deterrence, deep intelligence penetration, and precision strikes.
Netanyahu: A criminal betrayed by his own operatives
The minister went on to reveal that a mix of greed and revenge had driven elements within Israel’s nuclear agencies, military institutions, and even settler communities to cooperate with Iranian intelligence during the recent war.
Khatib used this moment to take aim at the regime’s “corrupt and criminal” premier, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying he provoked such “deep hatred” that even members of his own nuclear and military apparatus have turned against him.
“Instead of dealing with the country (Iran)’s water issues,” he noted, referring to Netanyahu repeatedly bringing up what the Israeli premier has called “Iran’s water crisis,” – “You would do better to address the livelihood problems of your own staff.”
“Those who, motivated by financial gain, cooperated with us and still do,” the minister added.
End of Israeli nuke ambiguity
Overall, Khatib described the intelligence breakthrough as a clear signal that the era of Israel’s nuclear ambiguity, where Tel Aviv neither admits nor denies possessing hundreds of nuclear warheads despite overwhelming evidence, has effectively come to an end.
He described the breakthrough as a revelation of “only a small part of the regime’s and its backers’ history of concealment,” which served as yet another token that Israel’s “nuclear ambiguity policy has ended.”
Friday’s revelation comes on the heels of a series of rapid Iranian intelligence successes since this summer, coinciding with Israel’s direct and indirect war against the Islamic Republic.
Each disclosure has added to what Iranian officials describe as one of the most significant intelligence counteroffensives in recent history, targeting a regime that prides itself on its sophisticated and precise intelligence operations.
On June 7, sources reported that Iranian operatives had seized a vast cache of strategic documents outlining Tel Aviv’s secret nuclear program.
The materials, detailing facilities, plans, and decades of secret projects, dealt one of the most damaging blows ever to the occupying regime.
Weeks later, on July 28, the intelligence ministry issued a rare statement outlining its multi-pronged counterintelligence operations during the 12-day imposed war, which it described as a “full-scale hybrid” aggression carried out jointly by Israel and the United States.
The war saw Israel attempting to destroy Iran’s nuclear, military, and civilian infrastructure, but Tehran responded with a meticulously planned retaliatory operation, ultimately forcing Tel Aviv to ask for a ceasefire.
The intelligence ministry credited its network of operatives with thwarting infiltration attempts and revealing the full extent of foreign support, including terrorist groups and certain European actors, behind the aggression
By August 2, Iranian officials announced that their intelligence teams had identified the complete personal profiles of Israeli air force personnel involved in the 12-day war.
Reports aired on national television revealed that the files contained exhaustive details on pilots, commanders, and drone operators, including residential addresses, military bases, and records of their participation in operations.
The disclosures culminated on September 2, when national TV showcased a “stunning” intelligence coup featuring complete dossiers on Israeli drone operators.
According to the broadcast, Iranian operatives had penetrated the regime’s UAV command and control system so deeply that they were able to send direct text messages to operators during the war.
The messages, appearing to come from within the occupied territories, warned bluntly: “Your professional identity has been exposed. Cooperate with us and be rewarded, or be killed.”
Israeli media outlets, including Yedioth Ahronoth, confirmed the reports of SMS-driven retaliation and noted that operators’ personal data had been compromised.
These disclosures have now grown into a tidal wave that no fortress of secrecy can withstand. From June’s cache of nuclear blueprints to July’s counterintelligence operations, from August’s exposure of airmen to September’s infiltration of drone operators, Iran’s intelligence has revealed not only the enemy’s hidden arsenals but also the fragility of its claims to invulnerability.
The age of hunting in the dark is over. The era of being watched, identified, and struck, if necessary, has begun. And it is the Islamic Republic calling the shots.
Masoud Khalili is a Tehran-based writer and strategic affairs commentator.