As Israeli airstrikes pounded Iran’s nuclear and military sites earlier this month, Israeli intelligence agents launched a covert intimidation campaign against top Iranian officials.
The mission's personal phone calls warned Iranian generals to flee or face the same fate as their slain colleagues.
On June 13, just hours after Israel began a wave of bombings that killed high-ranking Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, Israeli operatives contacted more than 20 senior Iranian figures with chilling threats. According to three individuals familiar with the operation, The Washington Post obtained an audio recording and transcript of one such call made to a senior Iranian general on that day, the report said.
Video
Here is the full transcription:
Israeli operative: " Hello, commander."
Iranian general: " Hello?"
Israeli operative: " Salam Alaykum"
Iranian general: " Hello?"
Israeli operative: " Can you hear me?"
“I’ll explain to you, listen carefully. I’m calling from a country that two hours ago sent Bagheri, Salami, Shamkhani, one by one, to hell.”
"I'm suggesting something for you"
“I can advise you now, you have 12 hours to escape with your wife and child. Otherwise, you’re on our list right now.”
“We’re closer to you than your own neck vein. Put this in your head. May God protect you.”
Iranian general: " Well you didn't say"
Israeli operative: " I told you, brother, I explained it clearly just now"
Iranian general: " You said what?"
Israeli operative: " I gave you a reprieve."
Iranian general: " What should i do?"
Israeli operative: " You have 12 hours to make a video saying we have walked away from this government, and we are unwilling to sacrifice our lives for people who destroyed our country for 46 years. They only killed, stole, took. They only cut the children of this country into pieces."
Iranian general: “How should I send it to you?”
Israeli operative: “I will send you a Telegram ID. Send it.”
Iranian general: "say it, say it"
Israeli operative: " I'll send it to you. I'll SMS it now"
Iranian general: " Where will you SMS it?"
Israeli operative: " We have your number. Look, we have everything on you. It seems you haven't understood"
"It's clear you dont even undertsand where you are right now"
"I'm telling you we hit all your leaders, (they) went into the air, we turned them into powder. "
"I'm calling to give you a proposal to save your wife and child. You wretch are you confused?"
Iranian general: " Well I'm saying how should I send it to you?"
Israeli operative: "I'm saying I'll send it to you."
It is not clear if the general made or sent the video. He is believed to be alive and still in Iran, according to one source quoted by the Washington Post.
The Israeli government has not commented publicly on the phone calls. However, Israeli officials familiar with the operation described it as part of a larger covert mission called “Rising Lion,” which accompanied Israel’s military offensive. This operation included pre-positioned intelligence units, hidden weapons caches, and other assets that had reportedly been lying dormant inside Iran for weeks or even months.
The covert phone campaign appears designed to destabilise Iran’s command structure after Israel eliminated several top figures in the first days of the conflict. These included General Hossein Salami, commander of the IRGC; General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; and Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, a leading nuclear physicist.
The campaign, according to sources quoted by the Washington Post, sought to unsettle second- and third-tier officials who would typically step into leadership roles. “The second-tier leadership that is supposed to inherit the positions and now fill in the places of those who have been eliminated, they are terrified,” one source said. “And they are being reminded on a personal level about what happened to the successor of Nasrallah and the successors of Hezbollah commanders who were eliminated, as well.”
The Israeli intimidation effort reportedly included warning letters slid under doors, phone calls, and even messages delivered through spouses. In some cases, repeated contact led to ongoing conversations between Israeli agents and Iranian officials.
The United States joined the conflict on the weekend following Israel’s initial assault. Under US President Donald Trump’s orders, US B-2 bombers and submarines launched a powerful multi-pronged strike on Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. These strikes used 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Top Pentagon officials said the sites were severely damaged.
The mission's personal phone calls warned Iranian generals to flee or face the same fate as their slain colleagues.
On June 13, just hours after Israel began a wave of bombings that killed high-ranking Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, Israeli operatives contacted more than 20 senior Iranian figures with chilling threats. According to three individuals familiar with the operation, The Washington Post obtained an audio recording and transcript of one such call made to a senior Iranian general on that day, the report said.
Video
Israel launched 'COVERT' call op after first Iran strikes
— RT (@RT_com) June 23, 2025
Warned Iranian officials to abandon Khamenei or be assassinated
‘You have 12 hours to escape’
This is one of the calls from WaPo pic.twitter.com/IuajZnue80
Here is the full transcription:
Israeli operative: " Hello, commander."
Iranian general: " Hello?"
Israeli operative: " Salam Alaykum"
Iranian general: " Hello?"
Israeli operative: " Can you hear me?"
“I’ll explain to you, listen carefully. I’m calling from a country that two hours ago sent Bagheri, Salami, Shamkhani, one by one, to hell.”
"I'm suggesting something for you"
“I can advise you now, you have 12 hours to escape with your wife and child. Otherwise, you’re on our list right now.”
“We’re closer to you than your own neck vein. Put this in your head. May God protect you.”
Iranian general: " Well you didn't say"
Israeli operative: " I told you, brother, I explained it clearly just now"
Iranian general: " You said what?"
Israeli operative: " I gave you a reprieve."
Iranian general: " What should i do?"
Israeli operative: " You have 12 hours to make a video saying we have walked away from this government, and we are unwilling to sacrifice our lives for people who destroyed our country for 46 years. They only killed, stole, took. They only cut the children of this country into pieces."
Iranian general: “How should I send it to you?”
Israeli operative: “I will send you a Telegram ID. Send it.”
Iranian general: "say it, say it"
Israeli operative: " I'll send it to you. I'll SMS it now"
Iranian general: " Where will you SMS it?"
Israeli operative: " We have your number. Look, we have everything on you. It seems you haven't understood"
"It's clear you dont even undertsand where you are right now"
"I'm telling you we hit all your leaders, (they) went into the air, we turned them into powder. "
"I'm calling to give you a proposal to save your wife and child. You wretch are you confused?"
Iranian general: " Well I'm saying how should I send it to you?"
Israeli operative: "I'm saying I'll send it to you."
It is not clear if the general made or sent the video. He is believed to be alive and still in Iran, according to one source quoted by the Washington Post.
The Israeli government has not commented publicly on the phone calls. However, Israeli officials familiar with the operation described it as part of a larger covert mission called “Rising Lion,” which accompanied Israel’s military offensive. This operation included pre-positioned intelligence units, hidden weapons caches, and other assets that had reportedly been lying dormant inside Iran for weeks or even months.
The covert phone campaign appears designed to destabilise Iran’s command structure after Israel eliminated several top figures in the first days of the conflict. These included General Hossein Salami, commander of the IRGC; General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces; and Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, a leading nuclear physicist.
The campaign, according to sources quoted by the Washington Post, sought to unsettle second- and third-tier officials who would typically step into leadership roles. “The second-tier leadership that is supposed to inherit the positions and now fill in the places of those who have been eliminated, they are terrified,” one source said. “And they are being reminded on a personal level about what happened to the successor of Nasrallah and the successors of Hezbollah commanders who were eliminated, as well.”
The Israeli intimidation effort reportedly included warning letters slid under doors, phone calls, and even messages delivered through spouses. In some cases, repeated contact led to ongoing conversations between Israeli agents and Iranian officials.
The United States joined the conflict on the weekend following Israel’s initial assault. Under US President Donald Trump’s orders, US B-2 bombers and submarines launched a powerful multi-pronged strike on Iran’s nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. These strikes used 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs and Tomahawk cruise missiles. Top Pentagon officials said the sites were severely damaged.
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