On June 7, local time, the Islamic Republic of Iran brought a shocking news: the Iranian intelligence service successfully obtained a large amount of strategically sensitive information and documents from Israel, including key information involving Israel's nuclear facilities and defense plans. Sources revealed that this time can be regarded as one of the largest intelligence operations carried out by Iran against Israel. The operation to obtain intelligence has actually been going on for a long time. Due to the huge amount of intelligence and the need to safely transport relevant documents to Iran, it has not been reported to the public until it is ensured that all documents are delivered to the scheduled protected locations. At the same time, it also took a lot of time to review documents and view accompanying pictures and videos.
Early, on May 20, Israel issued a statement saying that it had arrested two Israeli men at the end of April for suspected intelligence missions for Iran and were charged with stalking Israeli Defense Minister Katz. However, it is not yet confirmed whether the arrests of the two men are related to Iran's intelligence operation, after all, the arrest occurred after the relevant documents were shipped out of Israel.
On June 8, Iranian Intelligence Minister Hatib further stated in an interview with the media that this batch of Israel's "sensitive documents" will be declassified soon, covering key intelligence such as Israel's nuclear facilities, relations with the United States and Europe, as well as its own defense capabilities. Hatib described the use of "thousands of documents" to describe their scale as conservative, and these documents can be regarded as a "strategic treasure house" that can "enhance Iran's offensive capabilities."
In recent years, the confrontation between Iran and Israeli intelligence agencies has become increasingly fierce, and spy infiltration and cyber operations have been intertwined. As the negotiations on the US-Iran nuclear agreement progress, CNN and other media have disclosed that Israel is mobilizing weapons and ammunition and plans to launch a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities to hinder negotiations. Iran's successful acquisition of intelligence this time is undoubtedly an indication to Israel that once Israel dares to take action against Iran's nuclear facilities, Iran will use the information it has to retaliate against Israel's nuclear facilities and military bases. The disclosures of Iranian media also led the Times of Israel to speak out, saying that Iran has not provided any evidence to support these claims. As early as 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu claimed that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad obtained a large number of Iranian documents, showing that Tehran’s nuclear work was more known than before.
Qin Tian, deputy director of the Middle East Institute of the China Institute of Modern International Relations, analyzed that at the current node, Iran's intention to release this information is obvious. On the one hand, the International Atomic Energy Agency is about to hold a regular quarterly meeting, after the agency's report pointed out that Iran has not fully complied with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. The United States and the West have attempted to condemn Iran and even intend to submit the Iran nuclear issue to the Security Council to restore comprehensive sanctions on Iran. Iran's move is intended to divert the high attention of the United States and the West to its nuclear program, and at the same time exposes the Israeli nuclear issue and criticizes the double standards of the United States and the West on the Israeli nuclear possession issue - Israel has mastered all nuclear weapons technology in the 1960s and 1970s, but the United States and the West have long acquiesced, and have severely suppressed Iran's uranium enrichment activities that have not yet reached the level of nuclear weapons. On the other hand, Iran's move is related to the ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations. Israel has a negative and destructive attitude towards the Iran nuclear negotiations. Iran's disclosure of this intelligence operation is an early warning to Israel, hoping that the Israeli side will not act rashly and maintain the process of the Iran nuclear negotiations.
The incident of Iran claiming to obtain a large amount of Israeli sensitive intelligence has undoubtedly made the already complex situation in the Middle East even more turbulent. Whether the spy war between Iran and Israel will further escalate in the future and how the regional security pattern will evolve, the international community is waiting to see.
