 |
| Khomini's Bombed Compound |
Roughly 12 hours after the launch of Operation Roaring Lion, Israeli officials told Ynet that the central story was how Israel managed to surprise Iran for the second time in less than a year, despite months of public discussion about the possibility of war. The officials described the achievement as a tactical surprise rather than a strategic one, but said it fundamentally shaped the opening phase of the campaign.
According to security officials, the surprise was the result of months of intensive intelligence work aimed at mapping patterns of activity among Iran’s senior leadership, identifying routine gatherings and determining when key officials would be least prepared for an attack.
Military intelligence and the Mossad assessed that Iran was expecting a strike overnight. Instead, the operation began in the morning, a decision officials said created an unexpected window of vulnerability.