Outgoing Mossad chief hints Israel behind attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities
Yossi Cohen said the agency “struck deep in Iran’s heart” to reveal the Islamic Republic’s nuclear secrets and prevent Tehran from moving forward beyond certain “red lines”.
Outgoing Mossad chief Yossi Cohen signalled that Israel was behind a series of attacks targeting Iran’s nuclear programme in an interview last week.
Analysts have long suspected Israeli involvement in the assassination of top Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh and an explosion at an underground centrifuge hall in Natanz, and Cohen’s comments are being read as confirmation.
After a ceremony marking the end of his five-and-a-half-year term, Cohen said the agency “struck deep in Iran’s heart” to reveal the Islamic Republic’s nuclear secrets and prevent Tehran from moving forward beyond certain “red lines”.
He also appeared to issue a warning to others working in Iran’s nuclear industry. “If the scientist is willing to change career and will not hurt us any more, then, yes, sometimes we offer them” a way out.
The interviewer, Ilana Dayan, made other sensational claims – not disputed – in a voiceover allegedly depicting how Israel smuggled explosives hidden in marble flooring into Natanz’s underground halls.
Asked where in Natanz he would take explosives, Cohen said: “To the cellar [where] the centrifuges used to spin”, adding: “It doesn’t look like it used to look.”
Dayan then said Cohen “made sure to supply to the Iranians the marble foundation on which the centrifuges are placed… As they install this foundation within the Natanz facility, they have no idea it already includes an enormous amount of explosives”.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
