Dozens of female Mossad operatives ran covert missions inside Iran during the 12-Day War

 

A clandestine network of female Mossad operatives slipped into Iran during the 12-Day War—running surveillance, logistics, and other on-the-ground tasks that helped blind Tehran’s defenses and enable precision strikes, according to an exclusive report first published in Israel. The account, citing Israeli sources, says “dozens” of women had boots on the ground, a detail later echoed by Iran-focused and pro-Israel outlets that summarized the scoop.

The picture that emerges: human assets moving quietly while the Israel Defense Forces and intelligence services pummeled missile sites, air defenses, and nodes tied to the nuclear program. Previous reporting from major outlets described Mossad agents penetrating Iranian territory to dismantle weapons systems and shape the battlespace before the first bombs fell—context that aligns with the new focus on women in field roles.

Mossad chief David Barnea has publicly praised his operatives’ performance during the campaign, calling the period “historic” and signaling the agency will keep working inside Iran as required. While he didn’t detail gender or units, his remarks—and an official video message—underscore an intelligence posture that blends cyber deception, local partners, and covert teams to hit targets far from Israel’s borders.

Operationally, female case officers and collectors expand cover options, complicate Iranian counterintelligence, and can move in spaces where male operatives might trigger alarms. The sources-based narrative credits these teams with roles from agent handling and route prep to last-mile targeting support—classic HUMINT (human intelligence) that turns satellite feeds and signals intercepts into actionable coordinates.

Tehran has long cast itself as impenetrable. Yet open-source and investigative reporting following the war described precisely the kind of pre-planted networks Israel would need: dissident cells aiding sabotage, decoy summons that lured senior officers, and detailed mapping of high-value personnel—methods that would be amplified by skilled handlers on the ground.

Israel’s strategic logic is straightforward: Iran arms and directs terror proxies—Hamas, Hezbollah, and others—while racing for nuclear leverage. Covert reach inside the regime is both deterrence and insurance. Barnea and senior Israeli officials have hinted that if Tehran rebuilds capabilities or edges its uranium toward weaponization, the playbook is ready to reopen—quietly at first, and then not so quietly.

The initial “female operatives in Iran” revelation came via The Jerusalem Post; Iran International and World Israel News carried follow-ups; Reuters and other outlets provide the broader operational backdrop of agents operating on Iranian soil during the same campaign. Together, they sketch a coherent arc: a service that can still put people—women and men—deep inside the heart of the Islamic Republic.