Former senior Mossad official: "Do not be alarmed by reports about Site 99 in Syria"
A former senior Mossad official addressed reports regarding "Site 99" in Syria, stating that the primary danger it posed has already been removed. Simultaneously, he commented on Yossi Cohen's disclosure regarding activities at Fordow, claiming that Israeli intelligence has reached many locations inside Iran.
M., a former senior Mossad official, addressed on Tuesday in a conversation with Ron Koffman and Prof. Aryeh Eldad on 103FM the reports surrounding "Site 99" in Syria, which was bombed 19 years ago, as well as the statement by former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen regarding Israeli activity at the nuclear site in Fordow.
"First of all, one should not be alarmed by the reports about Site 99 in Syria. This is about closing the loop on things that were left behind, and sometimes it takes years until the final confirmation is made. The real danger was removed back in September 2007 in an operation where the IDF totally destroyed the facility in Deir ez-Zor, which was on its way to becoming a reactor for producing plutonium for military enrichment."
He added: "What is happening today is walking from the end to the beginning. The reactor was destroyed and some of the materials disappeared back then, but the State of Israel has been monitoring for years what remained there so that no one would try to restart the process. It is very good that this work is being done, and it proves the ability to close the loop on nuclear projects of dangerous regimes, whether it is Assad or elements like al-Julani."
Later, M. also addressed the achievements of Israel and the United States against Iran: "It is clear to everyone that there was exceptional intelligence here when American planes managed to strike and hit a site located 90 or 100 meters under a mountain, and achieve an almost perfect result in eliminating the most dangerous and fortified site in the Iranian nuclear program."
Simulation of the American attack on the nuclear facility in Fordow (Photo: courtesy of i24news)
Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen said at the Galilee Committee that "we traveled many times to the nuclear site in Fordow." M. addressed his words: "It is clear that Israel and the United States cooperated in intelligence in a very intimate way. The descriptions in the media regarding Israeli activity describe a reality in which Israeli intelligence has already reached very many places inside Iran. We have seen the achievements of the intelligence and the Israeli operation as a whole, and therefore I do not attribute dramatic importance to the very disclosure of this information at the current stage."
Regarding the possibility of toppling the Iranian regime, M. said: "Professionally, I do not think that the Kurdish militias would have managed to bring about a regime change in Iran. Such a move would have introduced problems with the Turks, as a Kurdish achievement in Iran would have affected the Kurds in Iraq, Syria, and especially in Turkey."
