Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed recent assassination strikes in Tehran and Beirut as a victory for Israeli intelligence, but experts say the operations reveal a strategic dependency on US intelligence.
The February 2026 assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several family members was facilitated by a joint US-Israeli mission, with the CIA providing a target bank and real-time electronic surveillance.
US MQ-9 Reaper drones and Tomahawk missiles were used to facilitate precision targeting and destroy Iran's hardened missile sites, according to experts from the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Regional Context
The strike that killed Khamenei was not the only instance of US-Israeli collaboration, as the September 2024 assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah also relied on US-made bunker-buster bombs and CIA intelligence.
Mamoun Abu Amer, an Istanbul-based expert on Israeli affairs, told Al Jazeera that the Israeli security apparatus has utilized this collaboration to present a personal political victory to the public.
Abu Amer said, "[Netanyahu] has utilised this to present a personal political victory to his public—proving that he successfully dragged the US president into a direct military confrontation with Iran, a quagmire that previous US administrations and military chiefs strictly avoided."
Intelligence Operations
The Mossad has also exploited commercial deception and infiltrated supply chains through European shell companies to gather intelligence, according to Abu Amer.
Israeli intelligence has spent years hacking Tehran's traffic cameras and jamming local mobile phone towers to build a pattern of life for Khamenei's bodyguards and prevent them from receiving warnings.
Abu Amer argues that this infiltration exploits sociopolitical fractures rather than relying solely on Israeli technical superiority, often using foreign proxies holding dual citizenships to infiltrate countries without raising suspicion.
Humanitarian Crisis
The joint US-Israeli strikes have sparked an environmental and humanitarian crisis, with Al Jazeera reporters in Tehran documenting black raindrops and toxic air following unprecedented strikes on civilian oil infrastructure.
As Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall reported from Tehran, these attacks are part of a "psychological war" intended to frighten Iranians, highlighting a shift towards total warfare that targets civilian livelihoods.
Experts warn that the recent "decapitation" strikes fail to deliver long-term security, driven by Israel's perceived tactical and operational supremacy, according to Abu Amer.
Abu Amer said, "Relying on intelligence assassinations does not alter the broader strategic reality; it merely provides temporary relief while dragging Israel into conflicts it cannot survive alone."
Source: Al Jazeera
