Israel intentionally released footage of Mossad operatives in Iran to provoke mass arrests, ex-chief says
Israel intentionally released footage of Mossad operatives in Iran to provoke mass arrests, ex-chief says Submitted by MEE staff on Sun, 11/01/2026 - 11:20 David Barnea says Mossad published video during the 12-day war to overwhelm Iranian agencies, making it difficult to distinguish operatives from ordinary citizens A screengrab from a social media video shows cars set on fire during a protest…
Former Mossad chief David Barnea revealed that Israel intentionally released footage of their operatives in Iran during the 12-day conflict to provoke mass arrests and complicate the identification of real agents among ordinary citizens. Barnea stated that the release of the Mossad logo video on the morning of Operation Rising Lion was aimed at safeguarding the agents involved.
He explained that the goal was to overwhelm Iranian counterintelligence, leading to mass arrests and making it challenging to separate Mossad operatives from regular Iranians. Iranian authorities reportedly arrested 21,000 individuals during the operation. Barnea emphasized that many of those arrested had no connection to the Mossad, describing some executed individuals as "unfortunate people" mistakenly accused.
The remarks were made at a private summit, drawing criticism from US Senator and human rights advocate Trita Parsi, who called it an admission of Israel's careless endangerment of innocent Iranians.
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