Iranian Drones vs Israel: A Secret War Raging Beneath the Surface

And Israel were bracing for swift, fierce retaliation from Iran overnight. Thanks to intricately planned maneuvers by Israeli spies and pilots — and shock and disarray on the Iranian side — there was silence. How Israel used spies, smuggled drones and AI to stun and hobble Iran The opening salvo of the Israel - Iran war was the ‘culmination of years of work,’ Israeli intelligence and military. In a years-long operation, Mossad's spies smuggled in armed drones and precision weapons into Iran, which later crippled its air defences and missile systems, clearing the skies for Israel's blistering offensives, suggest several reports citing experts and anonymous officials. Secret operations were launched by Israeli Mossad commandos deep inside Iran ahead of the wave of attacks on Tehran’s nuclear and missiles sites, say security sources. The covert missions. To Israeli officials, Iranian drones represent a real danger. The threat they pose was demonstrated in July 2022 when Israel ’s military said that it shot down three drones used by Hezbollah in an attempted attack on an Israeli gas exploration rig in contested maritime waters with Lebanon. Iran launched eight attacks against Israel on June 24 , 2025 : one drone attack and seven missile attacks. These attacks were concentrated in the hours leading up to the Iran-Israel ceasefire, which went into effect at 7 am, with two attacks occurring after the truce. World Middle East Israel - Iran conflict Deep-cover agents, hacked phones: Israel ’s secret war inside Iran The covert campaign that preceded the Jewish state’s attack also involved spy. Israel ’ s Operation Rising Lion , which aims to neuter Iran’s nuclear and long-range weapons capabilities, began with an overnight attack on a wide array of targets. These strikes included the use of drones and missiles launched by operatives from deep within Iran. Israel ’s Harop drones , also called “kamikaze drones ,” are engineered to loiter over a target zone and strike with deadly precision once a target is located. These are AI-assisted and capable of identifying threats autonomously. Iran ’s Shahed-136 drones follow a different philosophy: they are mass-produced, cheap, and deadly.