Israeli intelligence operatives reportedly placed dozens of ominous phone calls to top Iranian generals earlier this month, warning them to “escape” with their families or face certain death.
“I can advise you now, you have 12 hours to escape with your wife and child. Otherwise, you’re on our list right now,” an Israeli intelligence agent can be heard telling a senior Iranian general in an audio recording obtained by the Washington Post on Monday.
“We will hit you, your family, your children, everyone, with the dirt,” the agent continued, reiterating that he’s willing to offer the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) general a 12-hour “reprieve.”
The call – one of at least 20 made to top regime officials – was placed hours after Israel commenced strikes on Iran as part of Operation Rising Lion on June 13, multiple sources familiar with the operation told the Washington Post.
Israeli intelligence agents, likely working for Mossad, the Jewish state’s top spy agency, phoned the high-ranking Iranian officials as part of a covert effort to destabilize and divide the regime through intimidation.
The threats were conveyed to the Iranian officials in Persian, the official language of the Middle Eastern state.
“Like I said, 12 hours from this very minute that I spoke to you, you have time to escape,” the Mossad agent warns the befuddled IRGC official. “If not, you have no one to blame but yourself.”
“We’re closer to you than your own neck vein. Put this in your head. May God protect you.”
The operative claims that he’s “calling from a country that two hours ago” assassinated two top IRGC generals – Hossein Salami and Mohammad Bagheri – and Vice Adm. Ali Shamkhani, the former head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
“One by one, to hell,” the operative said of the fate of the three men, though Iranian media claims Shamkhani survived the assasination attempt.
“Do you want to be one of them? Do you want to be the next one on the list? Do you also want to destroy your wife and child? No, right?” the agent asks the general.
To which the regime official responds: “So, what should I do?”
The operative then instructs the general to make a video denouncing the Iranian regime and send it via Telegram, an encrypted messaging and social media app, within 12 hours.
It’s unclear if the general made the video.
The intimidation campaign was aimed at instilling fear into second- and third-tier leaders within the Iranian regime, with the goal of making it more difficult for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to find replacements for the top-level officials being killed by Israeli forces.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
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