In the remarkable and meticulously documented book "Target Tehran" by Yonah Jeremy Bob and Ilan Evyatar, the authors reference the Mossad’s long-standing commitment to the promise that the Islamic Republic of Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear bomb or any form of nuclear weapons capability.
In the summer of 2025, the Mossad, true to its word, and to operational realities, neutralized a critical and dangerous component of the Shi’a clerical regime’s nuclear ambitions. Through a preemptive strike, Israel temporarily, and at least on the surface, removed one of the regime’s most vital tools on its path to becoming a nuclear power.
But this is far from the end of the story. Whether the iconic Benjamin Netanyahu remains in office or steps aside and whether the highly capable former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen ever becomes Israel’s prime minister, one thing is clear: David Barnea has already carried out a historic mission.
The Mossad’s strategic chess match has been conducted with extraordinary professionalism.
Yet the mission is not finished.
The Mossad Israel’s elite intelligence service still has promises to keep. Only after those promises are fulfilled can we say that “the new Middle East” is truly within reach.
No serious observer believes the hollow assurances of the Islamic Republic.
This theocratic Shi’a state, with its long history of fabricated claims and relentless propaganda, much of it resembling the psychological machinery of Nazi Germany, has never been trustworthy.
And now, astonishing events are unfolding inside Iran.
The tumult and chaos within the country suggest that the crisis is either imminent or unavoidable.
Although CIA-Mossad intelligence sharing and military cooperation are routine, both agencies remain especially sensitive about developments in Iran. At times, even seasoned analysts appear caught off guard by the speed and unpredictability of events.
Ali Khamenei, the second dictator after Khomeini, has grown old, frail, and deeply unpopular. Despite his shamelessness, he is likely approaching the end of his rule. In his extremist worldview, the Islamic Ummah eagerly awaits its next “caliph” - his son Mojtaba.
Yossi Cohen, in "The Sword of Freedom", reveals that the Mossad knows Khamenei has long contemplated turning Iran’s Shi’a caliphate into a hereditary system of succession.
During the 12-day war with the Islamic Republic, the Mossad humiliated Khamenei. The self-styled “Leader of the Ummah” hid in an underground bunker like a cowardly sewer rat seeking protection from Israeli airstrikes that had effectively seized control of Tehran’s skies. In his worldview, the “medal of martyrdom” is reserved for the masses; the dictator himself must survive.
But the trajectory of events now points elsewhere.
Today’s geopolitical environment is shaped by the U.S.-Western alliance, the Russia-China bloc, and the increasingly central roles of Saudi Arabia and Israel. Following the Abraham Accords, the Gulf states have focused on economic growth, modernization, and regional stability.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Republic remains fixated solely on the Shi’ite Crescent, the expansion of an entrenched transnational terrorism network, and its messianic dream to destroy Israel and export radical Shi’a ideology.
In short, the regime continues its aggressive drive for regional hegemony.
Hostility toward Israel and the United States is embedded in its ideological DNA and cannot be removed.
There is ample evidence that the Persian Gulf states harbor deep fear of “Tehran’s Dictator,” a fear that remains a major obstacle to any fundamental realignment in the region.
From my perspective, the Mossad’s promise will only be kept when it contributes to the collapse of Iran’s theocratic regime. The agency’s focus on this crucial objective is both strategic and moral.
My respect for the extraordinary, creative, audacious achievements of the Mossad under David Barnea is unwavering. He, too, understands that the Islamic Republic remains an existential threat to Israel.
If Mojtaba Khamenei takes power with the same playbook as his father Tehran’s thirst for vengeance will only deepen.
The Mossad’s active presence inside Iran and throughout Tehran has served as a barely concealed warning to the regime, yet the clerical establishment remains lost in its delusions and the destructive ideology of Khomeinism.
Meanwhile, Iran’s extreme water and environmental crises are pushing the state toward a dead end.
The internal political crisis, like a festering abscess, could erupt at any moment.
The regime’s internal factions, including the so-called “reformists” and the traditional clergy who helped fuel the 1979 upheaval, are primarily concerned with preserving the status quo while offering cosmetic changes to deceive the West.
Khamenei’s death will not immediately produce collapse.
For 37 years, the Shi’a clerical octopus perfected both repression and propaganda, sustaining a blood-stained religious-mafia dictatorship.
As long as the regime survives even under Mojtaba its destabilizing role in the region will continue, just as it did under the first “caliph” Khomeini and the second, Ali Khamenei.
The Mossad understands that the Iranian people have risen 19 times against clerical tyranny, and that each uprising was brutally crushed. Economic collapse, gasoline price hikes, and mass impoverishment may soon ignite another nationwide revolt.
Regardless of whether Iran’s president comes from the “reformist” or “principlist” faction, both represent two faces of the same coin protecting the power of Tehran’s dictator.
Today, hundreds of Iranians are being tortured in notorious prisons for supporting Israel’s strike against the regime’s nuclear infrastructure. Many, face execution. Their families are told their loved ones are “Mossad agents.” The Iranian people, despite the regime’s propaganda, largely admire Israel. Israel’s war is not with Iran’s people-but with the occupying, predatory, terrorist regime in Tehran.
Because of my unwavering belief in Israel and in Judaism, I say this with certainty: The name “Mossad” is the nightmare of the mullahs’ intelligence community.
From former minister Ali Younesi’s astonishing admission that the Mossad’s influence is so pervasive that every Iranian leader should fear for his life, to the systematic elimination of IRGC and MOIS commanders, the trend is unmistakable.
Most intelligence chiefs of the Basij, IRGC, Quds Force, and MOIS have been eliminate. The Mossad knows that the Islamic Republic’s leadership enjoys no legitimacy outside the narrow circle enriched by corruption. They fear even walking among ordinary Iranians.
The 12-day war also delivered a powerful message to the Iranian nation: the regime’s “spider-web” apparatus of repression serving Tehran’s Dictator is fragile, weak, and trembling. The current instability, combined with cascading internal crises, has created a golden moment and opportunity that may arise only once in a century.
The Mossad has missed prior opportunities for regime change in Iran, often due to the lack of support from the White House or the CIA.
This moment must not be lost. Assisting the Iranian people in seizing this opportunity should be recognized as part of the Mossad’s broader mission.
Because with the rise of Mojtaba Khamenei, nothing will change. The Islamic Republic will remain violent, expansionist, and destructive.
Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) and Mohammed bin Zayed (MBZ) have driven prosperity and modernization in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, but the ascent of Mojtaba Khamenei promises only poverty, repression, and ruin for Iran.
The regional balance of power must shift.
If Israel’s survival and its vital role in regional peace and prosperity matter-as they must, then the cancerous tumor of the Islamic Republic must be surgically removed. No living organism can coexist peacefully with malignant growth.
Such a transformation would strengthen the Abraham Accords and eventually allow a post-regime Iran to join a prosperous, stable, and peaceful Middle East.