Mossad’s Secret Drone Network Revealed as Israel-Iran War Enters Day 3 Nuclear talks collapse, death toll climbs past 90, and world powers urge restraint
By Chukwuebuka Chukwuemeka
Israel’s three-day offensive against Iran’s nuclear and military infrastructure is being fought not only from the air but also from inside Iranian territory, according to a new report that says the Mossad smuggled explosive-laden drones into the country months before Friday’s opening strikes. The disclosure comes as exchanges of missiles and air-strikes push the region toward a wider war and force the cancellation of U.S.–Iran nuclear negotiations that had been scheduled for Sunday in Oman.
A war months in the making
Haaretz, citing a senior Israeli security official, reported that Israel’s external intelligence service established a covert logistics base “deep inside Iran” stocked with armed drones that were activated in parallel with Israel Air Force (IAF) sorties at dawn on June 13. The home-grown fleet reportedly targeted surface-to-surface missile launchers near Tehran and disrupted Iranian air-defence radars, clearing the way for IAF fighter-bombers to hit Natanz, Isfahan and other strategic sites.
Operation Rising Lion decapitates Iran’s military leadership
Israeli officials say the opening wave killed nine senior nuclear scientists and several top commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), including its chief, Gen. Hossein Salami, and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri.
Iran’s U.N. ambassador told the Security Council that 78 people had been killed and more than 320 wounded in the first 24 hours. The International Atomic Energy Agency later confirmed that the above-ground pilot enrichment hall at Natanz “was destroyed,” while Iranian officials acknowledged serious damage to four buildings at the Isfahan uranium-conversion facility.
Iran’s True Promise III retaliation
Late on June 14 and again after midnight, Iran’s IRGC answered with salvos of ballistic missiles and drones that slipped past parts of Israel’s Iron Dome shield. One missile levelled a residential block in Bat Yam near Tel Aviv, killing six people, including two children, and wounding more than 180. Another struck the Arab city of Tamra, where four more died. Fires also raged at industrial installations near Haifa, although Adani-operated Haifa Port remained unscathed and fully operational, according to port officials.
Escalation, not de-escalation
Within hours, Israeli warplanes struck Iran’s Defence Ministry headquarters in central Tehran, two oil refineries, and what the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) described as ballistic-missile and energy-sector nodes. In an unusually blunt message on social media, IDF spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee urged Iranians to evacuate “military weapons-production factories,” foreshadowing further attacks.
A senior Israeli official told The Wall Street Journal that even Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “is not off-limits” if Tehran refuses to dismantle its nuclear programme.
Diplomatic fallout and global ripples
Planned indirect U.S.–Iran talks aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal were scrapped Sunday. Germany, France and the United Kingdom have offered “immediate negotiations” with Tehran to cap enrichment and cool the crisis. British finance minister Rachel Reeves confirmed the U.K. has sent additional combat aircraft to the region “primarily to protect our forces, but also potentially to support allies.”
U.S. President Donald Trump, however, threw Washington’s weight squarely behind Israel, warning Tehran that any attack on American interests would meet the “full strength” of the U.S. armed forces, even as he insisted that “peace” between Israel and Iran was still achievable.
Pakistan condemned Israel’s “blatant provocations,” while Russia, which maintains ties with both adversaries, signalled it could try to broker a cease-fire. European energy markets jolted after explosions at Iran’s massive South Pars gas complex forced production cuts of 12 million m³ per day; Brent crude briefly topped $100 before easing.
Human cost and humanitarian concerns
Israeli medical services say at least 13 civilians have died since Iran’s first wave of missiles on Saturday night, while Tehran’s latest casualty figures remain unverified amid continuing strikes. The U.N. children’s agency UNICEF warned of a “devastating toll” on non-combatants if the conflict widens.
Rights groups also fear that Israel’s focus on Iran could intensify its nine-month-old war in Gaza; an Israeli soldier was killed in southern Gaza on Sunday, bringing IDF fatalities there to 284 since October 2023.
What next?
Military analysts note that Israel’s strikes have shifted from purely nuclear facilities to Iran’s energy lifelines, and that Iran has shown it can pierce Israeli air defences with longer-range missiles. With both sides vowing heavier blows, the prospect of direct confrontation between Iranian and Israeli forces—long played out through proxies—has become reality.
For now, commercial flights over Iran remain suspended, global oil prices are seesawing, and the world’s major powers are scrambling to prevent the Middle East from sliding into an even broader war. ONZANews will continue to monitor developments and provide updates as they unfold.
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