How Iran Was Duped by Israel

Iran and Israel continued their military strikes against each other for a third straight day (June 16). Last night, Iran targeted the northern Israeli port city of Haifa. As Israel's defence system intercepted Iran's ballistic missiles, two hypersonic missiles reportedly hit Haifa, causing several injuries, according to Israel's public broadcaster Kan. However, during these ongoing attacks and counter attacks, the moot question is where Iran faltered in securing the security and defence structure of its nuclear and military installations.

- ASAD MIRZA

N June 13, the Islamic Republic of Iran experienced a strategic collapse that altered the balance of power in the Middle East. Israel eliminated key Iranian military and scientific personnel, degraded the country's missile infrastructure, and neutralised its early-warning systems. But more consequentially, Israel's strike - dubbed Operation Rising Lion - shattered the Iranian regime's confidence in its own security apparatus.

An analysis by Zaineb Riduoa for the Washington-based Hudson Institute analyses that reportedly, Israel prepared for the operation over years of sustained intelligence preparation, real-time intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and deep infiltration. Israeli military planners achieved full-spectrum disruption by dismantling and infiltrating Iran's command and control networks, severing high-level communications, and injecting uncertainty into the regime's decision-making processes.

By the time Tehran could react, the damage was already done. Its upper command was wiped out, and its defensive systems were disabled. Crucially, Israel did not rely on cross-border operations. It had pre-positioned remote-activated strike platforms inside Iran and deployed them with surgical precision. This shows its preparations and depth of its infiltration of the Iranian security apparatus.

Israel combined a decapitation strike with cognitive disruption. The psychological warfare element - that the strike had come from Iranian soil - amplified the attack’s kinetic effects, leaving Tehran paralysed. Unable to determine whether it had been infiltrated or outmanoeuvred, the regime's ability to respond took time to recover and initiate countermeasures.

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