Ehud Olmert reveals intelligence details behind Imad Mughniyeh assassination

In his book ‘Arizona is Ours’, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert reveals new details regarding the intelligence operations that led to the assassination of Hezbollah military leader Imad Mughniyeh. Olmert describes how Mossad agents obtained a ‘golden image’ of Mughniyeh in Damascus, which provided a clear, up-to-date likeness of him alongside his wife and son. This photograph was significant because it debunked previous intelligence theories that Mughniyeh had undergone plastic surgery to disguise his appearance.

Olmert notes that the intelligence efforts to track Mughniyeh were closely linked to Israel’s pursuit of Syrian General Mohammad Suleiman, the suspected mastermind behind Syria’s nuclear program. Mughniyeh was reportedly a close associate of Suleiman and had advised him on concealing evidence related to the Syrian nuclear reactor.

The book also recounts how the discovery of the Syrian nuclear reactor—which Israel destroyed in 2007—stemmed from the intuition of a Mossad trainee codenamed ‘Anat’. Despite initial skepticism and reprimands from her superiors, her hypothesis regarding secret nuclear activity in Syria was eventually proven correct.