Mossad Director David Barnea thanked the men and women working for the agency after the success of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion. He also expressed his appreciation to the U.S. — particularly the C.I.A. — for their work in countering Iran’s nuclear program.
“These are historic days for the people of Israel. The Iranian threat, which endangered our security for decades, has been significantly thwarted thanks to the extraordinary cooperation between the IDF, which led the campaign, and the Mossad, which operated alongside it, with the support of our ally, the United States,” Barnea said.
The Mossad, Israel’s equivalent of the C.I.A., had personnel in Iran ready for the launch of Operation Rising Lion, something that was revealed in unprecedented fashion when the agency released video of its operatives at work.
Ahead of the U.S. strikes in the early hours of Sunday morning, Iran time, there was speculation whether Washington and Jerusalem were coordinating. President Donald Trump made it clear after the strikes that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been working together behind the scenes.
“I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team — like perhaps no team has ever worked before — and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel,” Trump said in his address to the nation following the strikes on Iran.
US STRIKES SET IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM BACK ‘MANY YEARS,’ ISRAELI ASSESSMENT FINDS
While Barnea expressed his gratitude to Israeli and American forces alike, he also said that “the mission is not yet complete.”
“The Mossad will continue, with determination, to monitor, track, and act to thwart the threats against us—just as we always have—for the sake of the State of Israel and its people,” Barnea said.
Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, said on Tuesday that the country was assessing the damage and preparing to restore the facilities, according to Reuters. He added that Iran’s “plan is to prevent interruptions in the process of production and services.”
Both Trump and Netanyahu vowed to respond if Iran rebuilds its nuclear program.
