Ankara closely monitored Israel’s attack on Iran: nearly 200 aircraft in 6 Waves. An apartment in Tehran, where a target was located, was struck by a jet, as shown in the image, indicating Israel’s intelligence support from within Iran. (Photo: Fatemeh Bahrami/AA)
Israeli warplanes launched a major airstrike on Iran in the early hours of June 13. The attack targeted military and nuclear facilities, killing Iran’s Chief of General Staff Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards Commander Hossein Salami, and 6 scientists involved in Iran’s nuclear program. The Natanz nuclear reactor was also hit. Reports claim Airospace Forces Commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh was killed as well.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared the attacks would continue “as long as necessary.”
Türkiye condemned the attack “in the strongest terms.” Sending condolences to Iran because of the loss of lives, President Tayyip Erdoğan said, “Netanyahu and his gang of massacres” must be stopped.
Turkish Foreign Ministry stated that this “provocation” was a “clear violation of international law,” serves Israel’s “strategic destabilization policy in the region”. Ministry urged Israel to immediately halt its “aggressive actions that could lead to larger conflicts” and called on the international community to “act urgently” to prevent the war from escalating.
Turkish Ministry of National Defense monitored the attack from start to finish, with a source stating that “all necessary measures were taken.”
200 aircraft in 6 waves
According to sources who spoke to YetkinReport anonymously, Ankara tracked Israel’s attack on Iran minute-by-minute starting from midnight on June 12. Ankara’s monitoring and assessments can be summarized as follows:
• The first Israeli aircraft took off toward Iran at around 1 a.m. on June 13, followed shortly by a second wave.
• After the first two waves advanced through Syrian airspace and then retreated, Ankara’s crisis center assessed this as a “deception operation,” predicting the main attack was imminent. The primary assault followed shortly after.
• The first reports of explosions in Iran emerged around 4 a.m. Israeli jets utilized Syrian and Iraqi airspace during the attack.
• According to the crisis center, Israel’s operation, codenamed “Rising Lion,” involved nearly 200 aircraft in 6 waves.
Local intel Support
Ankara’s technical assessments indicate Israel received internal support within Iran for targeting:
• The Chief of General Staff, Revolutionary Guards Commander, and six nuclear scientists were killed at their locations. Some were struck in specific apartments, reminiscent of Israel’s operation to kill Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a Revolutionary Guards guesthouse in Tehran.
• Such an operation would be impossible without intelligence support from within Iran. Precise confirmation of targets’ locations and laser designation for airstrikes was required.
• This suggests Israel, likely through MOSSAD or other means, had high-level intelligence support within Iran. The Iranian air defense system’s failure to respond to the airstrikes indicates it was neutralized through electronic warfare, possibly with external assistance.
Notably, two days before the attack, the opposition group People’s Mujahedin of Iran revealed details of a new nuclear program Iran allegedly concealed from the U.S.
Objective: Regime Change
Ankara believes the attack’s goal extends beyond destroying Iran’s nuclear program or forcing compliance with U.S. demands. The assessment is as follows:
• Israel, backed by Zionist lobbies, seeks to leverage the support it received during the Gaza conflict from the U.S. and some Western European countries for its Iran strategy. This opportunity aligns with the Trump administration’s desire to shift focus from the Middle East to the Pacific and counter China.
• No country in the Middle East is likely to go beyond political condemnations or diplomatic efforts to stop Israel’s attack on Iran. Saudi Arabia and Gulf states, despite public criticism, are privately content with Iran’s weakening, especially after the regime change in Syria.
• Israel’s targeted killing of 6 nuclear scientists and strikes on facilities like Natanz cannot fully dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, as key facilities are 50-60 meters underground, with only surface structures hit. These strikes aim to demoralize the public and erode trust in the regime. The killings of the Chief of General Staff and the Revolutionary Guards Commander directly target the regime.
Thus, the attack’s primary objective appears to be destabilizing Iran’s Islamic Republic regime. Ankara estimates that if Iran does not comply with U.S. demands, the U.S. may intervene directly. Indeed, Trump has threatened that “subsequent attacks will be more severe” if Iran does not reach an agreement.
