The American newspaper Wall Street Journal has revealed details of an intensive Israeli intelligence and military campaign aimed at eliminating leaders of the Iranian regime and its security apparatus “one by one,” in an attempt to undermine Tehran’s authority and push it toward internal collapse.
Assassinations of Leaders
In an exclusive report, the newspaper stated that the killing of two senior Iranian officials recently marked a turning point in this campaign. Israeli intelligence reportedly located Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, and killed him in a missile strike, just days after his public appearance in the streets of the capital, Tehran.
On the same night, and based on information provided by what the newspaper described as “Iranian civilian sources,” an Israeli airstrike targeted Basij Forces commander Gholam Reza Soleimani, resulting in his immediate death.
Dismantling the Structure
The Wall Street Journal reported that it reviewed documents and detailed target lists indicating a massive effort to weaken Iran’s internal control structure.
According to the newspaper, Israel has so far launched around 10,000 projectiles targeting thousands of sites, including more than 2,200 locations linked to the Revolutionary Guard, the Basij, and internal security forces.
According to Israeli and American officials cited by the newspaper, this strategy aims to force security forces out of fortified positions into exposed areas, then pursue them at temporary gathering points, including hideouts under bridges and within sports complexes.
The “Azadi Stadium” Massacre
Documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal revealed that one of the deadliest attacks occurred during the first week of the war, when Israeli fighter jets bombed Azadi Stadium and other complexes after intelligence identified an alternative plan for security forces to gather there. The strikes resulted in the killing of hundreds of security personnel and soldiers, according to the newspaper.
Direct Phone Threats
In another development, the newspaper reported that Mossad agents began making direct phone calls to Iranian military and security leaders, threatening them by name.
It cited the content of a call it claimed to have reviewed between a senior Iranian officer and a Mossad agent.
According to the report, the Mossad agent told the officer: “We know everything about you. Your name is on our blacklist, and we have all the information related to you. I called to warn you in advance to stand with your people. If you do not, your fate will be the same as your leader. Do you hear me?”
The newspaper claimed that the Iranian officer responded: “My brother, I swear by the Qur’an that I am not your enemy. I am already among the dead. Please just come and help us.”
Is Air Power Enough?
Despite this immense pressure, the newspaper cited a political analyst warning that “toppling a government from the air is difficult, if not impossible.”
Farzin Nadimi, a researcher at the Washington Institute, told the newspaper that if the regime survives, it may emerge from the crisis “more emboldened and dangerous.”
The Wall Street Journal concluded its report by noting that Israel’s security establishment is betting that economic deterioration and public anger will place the regime on an “irreversible path toward collapse,” but that the ultimate responsibility for changing the situation lies with the Iranian people themselves.
