On June 24, 2025, it became known that before the start of a large-scale Israeli operation against Iran's nuclear and military facilities, agents of the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad made a series of calls to high-ranking generals of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). According to The Washington Post, in one of these calls, a recording of which was published, an unknown agent speaking Persian threatened an IRGC general:

"You have 12 hours to escape with your wife and child [from Iran]. Otherwise, you are already on our list. We are closer to you than your jugular vein. Get that into your head. And may God protect you."

According to the newspaper, about 20 officers received calls, some of whom were asked to publicly renounce the Iranian regime on camera and send the video to Mossad. The operation was part of the preparation for the strikes that began on June 13, which Israel said eliminated nuclear and ballistic threats from Iran.

On the night of June 24, US President Donald Trump announced the entry into force of a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, brokered by Qatar. According to Trump, the agreement was supposed to end the “12-day war” that began with Israeli strikes on Tehran and Natanz. However, on the morning of the same day, Iran violated the ceasefire, launching ballistic missiles at Israel, killing at least three people and causing destruction in Beersheba. Israel, in turn, responded with a strike on a radar station in Tehran, accusing Iran of violating the agreement.

Israel’s operation, which began on June 13, was meticulously planned. According to the WSJ, the Mossad had been preparing the attacks for months, delivering drones and explosives to Iran through commercial channels. On the night of June 13, Mossad ground teams destroyed dozens of Iranian missiles before they could be launched, while the Israeli Air Force struck nuclear facilities, including the Natanz complex, and killed key IRGC figures, including commander Hossein Salami and the chief of staff. Iran responded with massive missile strikes, including the super-heavy Sajil missile, which the IRGC said allowed it to temporarily establish control over Israeli airspace.

The Mossad calls were a psychological attack aimed at destabilizing the Iranian military leadership. According to Reuters, Israeli intelligence used targeted operations inside Iran, including cyberattacks and the assassination of nuclear scientists, which added to the chaos in Tehran. Iranian authorities confirmed the arrest of 28 suspected Mossad agents at a clandestine factory in Tehran that produced drone bombs.