Israel is prepared for the conflict with Iran to go on for multiple days, a military official has confirmed.
“It depends on what the Iranian response looks like, but we are prepared for this to keep going on for days,” the officer added.
The country is readying itself for retaliation from Iran after launching mass airstrikes on nuclear sites and senior military leaders overnight.
Israel’s military said 200 fighter jets attacked dozens of military and nuclear targets in Iran, in a "pre-emptive, precise, combined offensive based on high-quality intelligence" named Operation Rising Lion.
When asked about the covert involvement of the Mossad in the attack, the military official said “Israel was able to surprise Iran”.
“Iran has been planning to annihilate us for years and have been acting upon it. They thought they had a secret plan where they could achieve a nuclear bomb without us knowing.
“We were able to surprise them.”
He added that the Israeli military had to remain humble because the conflict is not over, “but we can look at this night with some level of success”.
“But again, this operation isn’t over, and we might have difficult days ahead of us,” he said.
Another unnamed security official said Israel’s attack on Iran had been in the works for years and relied on intricate collaboration between the IDF and the Mossad.
Mossad agents reportedly set up a drone base near Tehran, from which drones were activated overnight, targeting surface-to-surface missile launchers aimed at Israel, the source told the Times of Israel.
Vehicles supplying weapons systems were also smuggled onto Iranian soil, and Mossad commandos deployed precision missiles near anti-aircraft sites in central Iran.
General Hossein Salami, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, was killed in the offensive, as was Major General Mohammad Bagheri, the overall commander of the Iranian army and the IRGC.
So far, Iran has launched over 100 drones toward Israel in response, most of which were intercepted.
US President Donald Trump said he was aware of Israel’s plans beforehand, but stressed that the US military played no role in the overnight operation.
"Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see," he told Fox News.
Meanwhile, Britain is not currently providing military support to Israel, and Prime Minister Keir Starmer has urged both sides to use restraint and return to diplomacy.
