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- Oct 26, 2018
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The outgoing head of the Israeli spy agency Mossad has given a revelatory interview about the country's operations against Iran
Yossi Cohen gave details about the theft of Iran's nuclear archive.
The warehouse raid in 2018 ferried tens of thousands of documents out of the country to Israel.
He also hinted at Israeli involvement in the destruction of Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, and the assassination of a nuclear scientist.
The most revelatory moments in the interview were about the theft of Iran's nuclear archive.
Mr Netanyahu revealed the stolen files at a press conference in 2018, which he said proved Iran once covertly tried to make nuclear weapons and had secretly retained the know-how - an allegation Iran denied.
Mr Cohen said in the interview that it took two years to plan the operation. In total 20 Mossad agents were involved on the ground - none of whom were Israeli citizens, the journalist Ilana Dayan said.
The spy chief watched the operation from a command centre in Tel Aviv. Agents broke into a warehouse and had to crack more than 30 safes, he said. As images of the trove appeared on screen, "there was incredible excitement for us all," he said, as quoted by The Times of Israel.
All operatives survived the raid and are well, he added, although some had to be extracted from Iran.
Like something from the pages of a thriller, Cohen describes how agents cracked safes before lifting tonnes of Iranian nuclear documents and getting them out the country while being chased.
Elsewhere, he comes closer than ever to admitting Israel sabotaged an underground Iranian nuclear site.
It also serves as a reminder to Israel's foes that the Mossad is willing to act deep behind what it considers to be enemy lines.
Israel has spoken openly about taking those tens of thousands of documents. But Mr Cohen also hinted at Mossad involvement in other operations long rumoured to have been the work of Israeli agents.
Early in the interview Mr Cohen spoke about the Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz.
Iran said that sabotage caused a fire at the uranium enrichment site in July 2020. A day after revealing new equipment in April this year, officials again said it had been sabotaged and had suffered major damage. Iran accused Israel of "nuclear terrorism" over the incident.
Mr Cohen told Ms Dayan that he knew the site well, and that he could take her to the cellar "where the spinning centrifuges are located". He then added: "Those that used to spin. Nowadays, the cellar doesn't look like it used to."
And he also spoke about Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Iran's top nuclear scientist was assassinated on a road outside Tehran last November - an attack Iran publicly blamed on Israel.
'Machine-gun with AI' used to kill Iran scientist
Why was a top Iranian scientist assassinated?
The ex-Mossad chief did not confirm or deny involvement in the death. But he said the scientist was a target "for many years", adding that his scientific knowledge concerned the agency.
"If the man constitutes a capability that endangers the citizens of Israel, he must stop existing," he was quoted as saying, but added that someone could be spared "if he is prepared to change profession and not harm us any longer".
Jamaa wanajua viunga vyote vya vinu vya Iran.
Tunaposema Iran ni sawa na paka wa dukani muwe mnatuelewaga
Yossi Cohen gave details about the theft of Iran's nuclear archive.
The warehouse raid in 2018 ferried tens of thousands of documents out of the country to Israel.
He also hinted at Israeli involvement in the destruction of Iran's nuclear facility at Natanz, and the assassination of a nuclear scientist.
The most revelatory moments in the interview were about the theft of Iran's nuclear archive.
Mr Netanyahu revealed the stolen files at a press conference in 2018, which he said proved Iran once covertly tried to make nuclear weapons and had secretly retained the know-how - an allegation Iran denied.
Mr Cohen said in the interview that it took two years to plan the operation. In total 20 Mossad agents were involved on the ground - none of whom were Israeli citizens, the journalist Ilana Dayan said.
The spy chief watched the operation from a command centre in Tel Aviv. Agents broke into a warehouse and had to crack more than 30 safes, he said. As images of the trove appeared on screen, "there was incredible excitement for us all," he said, as quoted by The Times of Israel.
All operatives survived the raid and are well, he added, although some had to be extracted from Iran.
Like something from the pages of a thriller, Cohen describes how agents cracked safes before lifting tonnes of Iranian nuclear documents and getting them out the country while being chased.
Elsewhere, he comes closer than ever to admitting Israel sabotaged an underground Iranian nuclear site.
It also serves as a reminder to Israel's foes that the Mossad is willing to act deep behind what it considers to be enemy lines.
Israel has spoken openly about taking those tens of thousands of documents. But Mr Cohen also hinted at Mossad involvement in other operations long rumoured to have been the work of Israeli agents.
Early in the interview Mr Cohen spoke about the Iranian nuclear facility at Natanz.
Iran said that sabotage caused a fire at the uranium enrichment site in July 2020. A day after revealing new equipment in April this year, officials again said it had been sabotaged and had suffered major damage. Iran accused Israel of "nuclear terrorism" over the incident.
Mr Cohen told Ms Dayan that he knew the site well, and that he could take her to the cellar "where the spinning centrifuges are located". He then added: "Those that used to spin. Nowadays, the cellar doesn't look like it used to."
And he also spoke about Mohsen Fakhrizadeh. Iran's top nuclear scientist was assassinated on a road outside Tehran last November - an attack Iran publicly blamed on Israel.
'Machine-gun with AI' used to kill Iran scientist
Why was a top Iranian scientist assassinated?
The ex-Mossad chief did not confirm or deny involvement in the death. But he said the scientist was a target "for many years", adding that his scientific knowledge concerned the agency.
"If the man constitutes a capability that endangers the citizens of Israel, he must stop existing," he was quoted as saying, but added that someone could be spared "if he is prepared to change profession and not harm us any longer".
Jamaa wanajua viunga vyote vya vinu vya Iran.
Tunaposema Iran ni sawa na paka wa dukani muwe mnatuelewaga
