Operation Narnia - Israel’s secret plan to eliminate Iran's nuclear weapons program

A Washington Post report stated that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump began planning their joint strikes on Iranian nuclear sites during Netanyahu’s February visit to the White House. 

According to that report, when the two leaders met, Netanyahu presented Trump with four possible attack scenarios for dealing with Iran’s nuclear program, which both countries assessed was aimed at developing a nuclear weapon.

The four scenarios that Netanyahu presented were: an exclusively Israeli operation, an Israeli-led campaign with some U.S. involvement, a joint campaign, or a U.S.-led campaign. 

Little information about the meeting between Trump and Netanyahu was released following the Israeli prime minister’s return to Israel, however, soon after, Trump announced that the U.S. would resume negotiations with Iran in the hopes of making a better nuclear agreement than the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which the U.S. withdrew during Trump’s first term. 

However, as the Washington Post discovered, U.S. attempts to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue did not prevent Israel and the U.S. from continuing to plan for a military option. In the months following the meeting, the two countries continued intelligence sharing and coordinated planning in preparation for a potential attack.

The Israeli government, which was very skeptical of any chance for negotiating an effective nuclear deal to prevent covert Iranian development of nuclear weapons, continued to refine plans for an operation so fantastical in its scope that it was called “Operation Narnia.” 

Planning for Operation Narnia had begun more than a decade earlier, involving the tracking of Iran’s top nuclear scientists and the development of a broad internal agent network capable of acting in a coordinated manner when activated.

While the Israeli government was pushing the U.S. to launch strikes on Iran’s top nuclear facilities allegedly used for nuclear weapons research, Israeli intelligence had already calculated that strikes on nuclear facilities, such as Natanz and Fordow, would cause only a temporary disruption. Such facilities could be rebuilt. Thus, Israeli planners focused on a combined approach, eliminating Iran’s leading nuclear scientists while also destroying the nuclear research and development facilities. 

Israeli intelligence began collecting data on approximately 100 of the Islamic Republic’s top nuclear scientists, including their place of residence, daily routines, travel patterns, vacation spots, and security details. Over time, that broad list was narrowed to the top 12 scientists considered to be the most critical to Iran’s nuclear weapons program. 

In addition to targeting the nuclear scientists, the Mossad developed teams of operatives who would work inside the country, helping the Israel Air Force to target ballistic missile launchers and air defense systems. The Mossad reportedly recruited more than 100 Iranian agents inside the country, some of whom continued to carry out operations throughout the 12 days of war last June.

When Israeli airstrikes in Iran began early on the morning of June 13, targeting 12 nuclear scientists, teams of local operatives had already begun their own operations using drones, missiles, and a third, undisclosed weapons component. The use of Israeli agents inside Iran marked a major escalation in previous efforts to degrade Iran’s nuclear program.

“This operation is unprecedented in history,” an Israeli official told the Washington Post. “We mobilized our own assets and agents to go close to Tehran and launch the ground operation before the [Israeli] Air Force could enter Iranian airspace.” 

However, crucial to the success of the Israeli-led operation was the participation of the United States. In the months and weeks before the start of the 12-day Israel-Iran War, "Operation Rising Lion," the Trump administration made intense efforts to achieve a diplomatic agreement with Iran that would deem the strikes unnecessary. American officials also leaked reports about a growing rift between Trump and Netanyahu over the Iran issue to make it appear as if the U.S. would be unwilling to support Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. 

In the final days before the war began, the U.S. continued to seek a deal acceptable to both the Iranian regime and the U.S. and Israeli interests. When Iran continued to reject the U.S. demand to halt uranium enrichment, the Israeli government felt justified in launching its strikes. 

To prevent Iran from suspecting that an Israeli strike was imminent, Israeli officials leaked reports that Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and Mossad Chief David Barnea would soon be meeting with U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff to discuss progress on the negotiations. 

Even after the Israeli strikes began, the United States offered Iran a deal that would have lifted all sanctions in exchange for dismantling its nuclear weapons program and ending financial support for Shiite militias across the Middle East. Iran rejected the proposal, after which U.S. officials began planning their participation in the Israeli operation.

The U.S. would ultimately join Israeli forces in the final hours of the campaign, launching a strike on the nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. 

Just hours later, President Donald Trump announced a surprise ceasefire, effectively ending the war.