Israel Launches Covert War Against Iran

The Daily Telegraph quoted US intelligence sources as saying that Israel has launched a covert war against Iran “as an alternative to direct military strikes against Tehran's nuclear program.”

“It is using hitmen, sabotage, front companies and double agents to disrupt the regime's illicit weapons project,” the experts say.

"Disruption is designed to slow progress on the program, done in such a way that they don't realize what's happening. You are never going to stop it," a former CIA officer on Iran told the Telegraph. "The goal is delay, delay, delay until you can come up with some other solution or approach. We certainly don't want the current Iranian government to have those weapons.

Reva Bhalla, a senior analyst with Stratfor, the US private intelligence company with strong government security connections, said the strategy was to take out key people. "With co-operation from the United States, Israeli covert operations have focused both on eliminating key human assets involved in the nuclear programme and in sabotaging the Iranian nuclear supply chain," she said.

The Telegraph added that “despite fears in Israel and the US that Iran is approaching the point of no return in its ability to build atom bomb, Israeli officials are aware of the change in mood in Washington since President Barack Obama took office.”

“They privately acknowledge the new US administration is unlikely to sanction an air attack on Iran's nuclear installations and Mr. Obama's offer to extend a hand of peace to Tehran puts any direct military action beyond reach for now.”

"As US-Israeli relations are bound to come under strain over the Obama administration's outreach to Iran, and as the political atmosphere grows in complexity, an intensification of Israeli covert activity against Iran is likely to result."

The Telegraph also said that “Mossad was rumored to be behind the death of Ardeshire Hassanpour, a top nuclear scientist at Iran's Isfahan uranium plant, who died in mysterious circumstances from reported "gas poisoning" in 2007.”

“Other recent deaths of important figures in the procurement and enrichment process in Iran and Europe have been the result of Israeli hits, intended to deprive Tehran of key technical skills at the head of the program,” the daily added citing Western intelligence analysts.

Mossad's covert operations cover a range of activities. The former CIA operative revealed how Israeli and US intelligence co-operated with European companies working in Iran to obtain photographs and other confidential material about Iranian nuclear and missile sites.

"It was a real company that operated from time to time in Iran and in the nature of their legitimate business came across information on various suspect Iranian facilities," he said.

"Without military strikes, there is still considerable scope for disrupting and damaging the Iranian program and this has been done with some success," said Haaretz’s Yossi Melman.

But Vince Canastraro, the former CIA counter-terrorism chief, expressed doubts about the efficacy of secret Israeli operations against Iran. "You cannot carry out foreign policy objectives via covert operations," he said. "You can't get rid of a couple of people and hope to affect Iran's nuclear capability."

Iran has consistently asserted that it is pursuing a nuclear capability for civilian energy generation purposes.