Iran’s state broadcaster, IRIB, has reported what it describes as one of the "largest intelligence operations" in history against Israel, claiming Iranian intelligence obtained a vast cache of "sensitive documents" -- including thousands allegedly related to Israeli nuclear projects and facilities -- from inside Israeli territory.
IRIB’s rolling news channel, IRINN, interrupted regular programming on June 7 to announce the story. It said the operation involved extracting an “abundance of strategic and sensitive information and documents” from within Israel, citing unnamed “regional sources.”
According to the report, the documents were transferred to Iran after a period of secrecy intended to ensure their safe arrival. IRIB said the volume of material is so great that merely reviewing it will take considerable time.
The broadcaster also linked the recent arrests of two Israeli citizens -- Roy Mizrahi and Almog Atias -- to the alleged intelligence breach. Israeli authorities announced their arrests last month, accusing them of collaborating with Iran. The Iranian report suggests the arrests may have come after the documents had already been smuggled out.
While the arrests of Mizrahi and Atias are confirmed and appear consistent with a broader pattern of Iranian intelligence recruitment inside Israel, there is no independent evidence to support IRIB’s claim of a massive exfiltration of nuclear-related documents. Israeli authorities have not acknowledged any such breach, and international media or independent analysts have released no corroborating details.
The claim comes six years after a high-profile Israeli intelligence operation inside Iran. In 2018, Mossad agents stole roughly 100,000 documents from a secret warehouse in Tehran, detailing Iran’s covert nuclear weapons program.
The trove was later verified by international experts and publicly revealed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, likely contributing to the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal during President Donald Trump's first term in office.
This latest Iranian claim -- whether credible or exaggerated -- fits into an intensifying pattern of espionage activity inside Israel over the past year. Israel’s Shin Bet security agency has reported a significant uptick in Iranian-directed spy plots, with more than 30 Israelis arrested for allegedly working on Iran’s behalf. These cases have included photographing military sites and plotting assassinations, involving both Jewish and Arab citizens.
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Iran and Israel have engaged in a prolonged shadow conflict involving cyberattacks, targeted killings, drone operations, and acts of sabotage. Tehran alleges that Israel is behind the assassinations of several Iranian nuclear scientists, while Israel accuses Iran of backing regional militant groups and orchestrating attacks on Israeli interests abroad.
The United States and Israel, widely regarded as the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state, lead Western accusations that Iran seeks nuclear weapons. Iran denies this, maintaining its nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
This latest report surfaces amid persistent tensions over Iran’s nuclear activities, which Israeli officials continue to describe as a fundamental threat to their country’s security.
