Former Mossad chief reveals details on operations in Iran and Lebanon

David Barnea, the former head of Mossad, has disclosed new details regarding Israeli military operations against Iran and the 2024 pager explosions targeting Hezbollah members in Lebanon. Speaking at the Priority Summit, Barnea explained that Mossad intentionally released an official video featuring its logo during the first morning of ‘Operation Rising Lion’—a military campaign launched in June 2025 against Iranian nuclear and military targets.

According to Barnea, the video served a dual purpose: propaganda and strategic deception. By showcasing agents performing missions, Mossad aimed to overwhelm Iranian security services with a massive list of potential suspects. Barnea stated that this tactic was designed to protect actual undercover agents by creating such chaos that Iranian authorities would be unable to distinguish real operatives from innocent civilians.

Barnea noted that Iranian authorities detained approximately 21,000 people on the second day of fighting. He argued that such mass arrests ultimately forced the release of everyone, as the sheer volume of detainees made it impossible to verify individual claims of innocence. He also addressed the strategic calculations behind the pager attacks in Lebanon and questioned the validity of certain executions in Iran carried out against individuals accused of being Mossad agents.