We now know how the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) managed to eliminate dozens of Iranian top military officials in one fell swoop.
The Jewish Chronicle published a report describing the ruse Israel used to lure Iran’s top air force commanders to a location where they wiped them out in an airstrike.
In a statement confirmed to the JC by Israeli sources, Amit Segal told the Call Me Back podcast on Monday: “What Israel did was create a fake phone call for 20 members of the air force senior staff an calling them to a specific bunker in Tehran.”
This meant there was no one to give the order to fire the initial salvo of 1,000 ballistic missiles as Iran had previously threatened to do, he added.
According to sources familiar with the operation, Mossad initiated a targeted disinformation effort days before the strike.
Using falsified communications through Iranian channels, they triggered what appeared to be an emergency meeting.
The ruse successfully drew the entire senior leadership of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, including Commander General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, his deputies, and key technical personnel, into a fortified bunker outside Tehran.
Moments before the strike began, that bunker was hit in a precision airstrike, eliminating Iran’s top missile command.
The move damaged Iran’s ability to launch missiles into Israel since no one was left alive to give the order to carry out the planned attack. Israel followed up this attack with a series of strikes aimed at destroying Iran’s air defense systems.
This is one of the longer range missiles Iran still holds in their inventory.
— General Mike Flynn (@GenFlynn) June 18, 2025
A Khorramshahr-4.
Iran still retains significant capabilities. Iran can never have a NUCLEAR weapon.
“Nothing is finished until it’s finished.”@realDonaldTrump@DNIGabbard pic.twitter.com/AeDJ3jTPE6
👇‼️Israel faked a secret call from the top to nearly all Iranian Air Force generals instructing them to gather at a bunker.
— Josh Wolfe (@wolfejosh) June 18, 2025
Then once they were there, bombed the bunker eliminating entire offensive missile authorizers https://t.co/B8R8jyghyp
Israel has been battering Iran’s nuclear and military facilities for nearly a week as it attempts to prevent the country from acquiring the ability to manufacture nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has been weighing whether to join the war against Iran.
President Donald Trump has been trying to leverage the Israeli onslaught to pressure Iran into re-engaging in negotiations about its nuclear program. Iran has signaled that it might be open to renewed negotiations, but only if the US refrains from entering the war.
