Israel’s opening salvo in June’s war with Iran was not only military — it was technological. By breaking into the phones of Iranian bodyguards and drivers, Israeli intelligence mapped the movements of the Islamic Republic’s most senior leaders, unleashing one of the most devastating decapitation strikes in modern conflict, according to new reporting by the New York Times.

In the early hours of June 13, Israeli forces targeted and killed numerous top Iranian generals and nuclear scientists. Among them were Revolutionary Guards chief Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, Armed Forces chief Maj. Gen. Mohammad Bagheri, and missile chief Brig. Gen. Amir Ali Hajizadeh. The precision of the strikes paralyzed Tehran’s command structure for hours, stunning both the regime and its allies.

Although Iran’s top officials avoided smartphones, their entourages did not. “We know senior officials and commanders did not carry phones, but their interlocutors, security guards and drivers had phones; they did not take precautions seriously and this is how most of them were traced,” Sasan Karimi, a former Iranian deputy vice president for strategy, told the Times.

The very measures Iran adopted to shield its leaders — layers of security and bodyguards — became liabilities. Israeli officials said those guards’ digital footprints allowed the IDF and Mossad to hunt down targets with unprecedented precision. “Using so many bodyguards is a weakness that we imposed on them, and we were able to take advantage of that,” one Israeli defense official told the Times.

Iran had been aware of assassination threats and tightened protection of its top brass before the war. But the operational discipline collapsed quickly: guards used personal phones, sometimes posting updates on social media, exposing their principals’ locations. After the first wave of assassinations, guards were ordered to rely solely on walkie-talkies. Even then, lapses proved costly.

On June 16, Israeli strikes hit a bunker during a meeting of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. President Masoud Pezeshkian was injured in the leg, and several guards were killed, though senior leaders survived.

Brig. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, newly appointed to head the Revolutionary Guards Corps, later acknowledged the depth of Israel’s intelligence penetration. “The enemy gets the majority of its intelligence through technology, satellites and electronic data,” he said.

Israel claims its 12-day campaign killed dozens of senior Iranian security officials and at least 11 nuclear scientists. The strikes also damaged uranium enrichment facilities and ballistic missile infrastructure, inflicting what analysts describe as Iran’s gravest security crisis since the 1980s war with Iraq.

Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks that killed dozens in Israel, escalating the confrontation until a ceasefire was reached on June 24.

In the aftermath, Tehran launched sweeping arrests and executions of suspected spies, desperate to root out leaks. Israel has declined comment on those measures.

The strikes intensified global efforts to constrain Iran’s nuclear program. Last week, Britain, France and Germany triggered the “snapback” mechanism to reinstate UN sanctions, citing Tehran’s non-compliance with its 2015 nuclear commitments. Iran has threatened retaliation, while negotiations with international mediators remain stalled.

Israel, meanwhile, has signaled it is prepared to act again. Officials warn that any attempt by Tehran to rebuild its nuclear and missile programs could trigger a renewed offensive.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)