They Were Called Crazy, But They Found a Way to Penetrate the Iranian Mind

At first, it is said, they were thought to be crazy: how would a small group of intelligence researchers manage to achieve air superiority over Iran, which is 75 times larger than Israel? How would it be possible to surprise and undermine the defense network that the Ayatollah regime had woven for itself? The concerns were great: it was not known exactly how many anti-aircraft batteries Iran had and where they were located — and this data could have disrupted any attack plan. One thing was clear: winning this chess game could change the whole picture.

After initial concerns, the plan developed in the Air Force Intelligence Directorate — with researchers from the Intelligence Corps (Aman) — was launched. The goal: to know where every SAM battery in Iran is and to hunt them down one by one, thereby paving the way for Air Force planes to every point in Iran — including the bunkers where senior regime officials were hiding, nuclear sites, and symbols of power. That information enabled the attack waves that shook the Iranian regime, decapitated the top leadership who thought they were protected, and paved a free path to every point in the skies of the Islamic Republic.

The Battle of Wits

The plan was developed in 2023. Despite initial skepticism, the creation of intelligence sources and deep research provided intimate knowledge of the Iranian adversary: its systems, its capabilities, and its people. Deep cooperation with Aman built an infrastructure that enabled the broad strike on the Iranian regime and the Revolutionary Guards, and the paving of a corridor that kept expanding in the skies of Iran — from Isfahan to Tehran.

The meaning of this chess game is to analyze and predict the adversary's next move — how to surprise him, where he will hide his SAM batteries, and how to discover the weak points of each system. The challenge is magnified when a modern SAM battery is mobile. Deep intelligence made it possible to know the commanders and the systems. Together with Aman, a method was developed to find the location of the SAM batteries. Iran played cat and mouse with these systems, but the result of the intelligence effort yielded the ability to know where every surface-to-air missile is and to hunt it down.

Adaptation and Future Challenges

During this battle of wits, mutual learning was taking place. The guiding principle was clear: one must always surprise. At first, classic systems like the Russian S-300 were hit. When the Iranians tried to hide them in tunnels, it was too late: they were located and destroyed. After initial blows, the Iranians changed their patterns, hiding SAM batteries in pits and containers, focusing on the 358 system, which uses electro-optical cameras without radar. But Israeli capabilities allowed for the detection of even these hidden batteries.

Iran's air defense array is based on a multi-layered concept relying on Russian, Chinese, and self-developed systems. Dealing with it requires a combination of physical suppression, electronic jamming, and deception. Iran's mountainous terrain, such as the Zagros Mountains, provides natural cover, but the integration of F-35 planes changed the game, allowing them to approach threats without being detected.

Looking to the future, the conclusions are clear: the Air Force must continue to act quickly to understand how the enemy is trying to improve. The successes are a product of high-quality intelligence and close cooperation with the USA. There is a constant need to continue building new intelligence infrastructures and deep penetration into the heart of the enemy. The question remains: will Iran now try to import more weapons, or will it focus on deeper tunneling? Solutions for these challenges are already being developed.