New York Times: The Mossad didn’t provide correct information about Iran
The New York Times said that Israel’s plan to ignite a rebellion in Iran with the aim of toppling the ruling regime was an illusion and that the optimism of the administration of US President Donald Trump about this plan despite the reality on the ground was wrong.
On Sunday, the New York Times, in an analysis based on unnamed senior US and Israeli officials, explained why plans to ignite an insurgency in Iran have not become a reality.
It pointed to errors in Israeli intelligence assessments, as well as American optimism unrelated to the situation on the ground.
According to the New York Times, Israel’s foreign intelligence service, the Mossad, presented a plan to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu based on igniting an uprising inside Iran that would lead to the fall of the regime.
Mossad chief David Barnea presented Netanyahu with a comprehensive plan before the attacks began, which included the possibility of mobilizing Iranian opponents within a few days of the outbreak of the war, which could lead to a broader wave of insurgencies that would contribute to the collapse of the regime.
The plan initially included the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, as well as a series of intelligence operations aimed at encouraging regime change and setting the stage for a mass uprising that would end the war quickly.
The New York Times reported that Netanyahu adopted this plan, and relied on the optimism shown by the Mossad to convince Trump of it.
Some senior US intelligence officials have expressed doubts about the feasibility of this plan, stressing that the reality on the ground doesn’t match it, despite the optimism of the US and Israeli leaderships.
By the third week of the war, US and Israeli intelligence assessments concluded that Iran’s theocratic system is weak, but it’s still in place and continues to function.
According to the analysis, the belief that a large-scale insurgency in Iran could be ignited was an illusion.
Netanyahu expressed disappointment that the Mossad’s promises had not been fulfilled, noting during a security meeting days after the attacks began that Trump could decide to end the war at any moment, and that the Mossad’s operations haven’t yet yielded results.
