IDF says it completed strike on Iranian air defense systems in western Iran

Germany was informed of Israel’s military operation against Iran shortly before it began, Der Spiegel reported on Friday.

According to the report, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke by phone with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz around 00:30 GMT, just ahead of the strikes.

Mossad and the Israeli military carried out a series of covert operations against Iran’s strategic missile infrastructure ahead of this week’s airstrikes, according to Israeli media and security sources cited by Reuters.

Military correspondent Itay Blumental of Israel’s Kan News, citing a security source, reported that Mossad operatives secretly smuggled large volumes of precision-guided weaponry into Iran and deployed them across various locations.

The weapons were used to target Iranian surface-to-air missile systems and long-range missile launchers during the strikes.

According to the same report, Mossad:

• Dispatched commando teams to place munitions near air defense systems to disrupt their operations.
• Used vehicle-mounted systems to launch weapons at the start of the operation, targeting Iranian air defenses.
• Established a drone base inside Iran to attack missile launchers, west of Tehran.

A separate Israeli security source told Reuters that Mossad and the Israeli military jointly led these operations, focusing specifically on degrading Iran’s strategic missile array.

The Times newspaper’s defence editor wrote on X that the United Kingdom will not protect Israel if Iran retaliates in response to Israeli strikes overnight. The post did not cite any official sources.

The Jordanian Armed Forces announced on Friday that the Royal Air Force and air defense systems intercepted several missiles and drones that had penetrated the country’s airspace, fired from Iran.

The Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant has not been affected by the Israeli strikes on Iran, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, said on Friday.
“As of now, the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant has not been impacted,” Grossi said, following further contacts with Iranian authorities. The statement was posted on the agency’s official account on X.