Former Mossad leader Yossi Cohen has disclosed that Israeli intelligence operatives frequently accessed Iran's fortified Fordow nuclear facility prior to its destruction. These reconnaissance missions reportedly provided critical insights before U.S. forces launched a massive aerial assault on the site in June 2025.
Yossi Cohen’s claims of repeated tours inside Fordow
Yossi Cohen, who directed Israel's Mossad intelligence agency from 2016 to 2021, has revealed that Israeli spies conducted multiple tours of the Fordow nuclear site. These missions were intended to help intelligence services understand the complex underground facility before it was targeted by American military power. As the report states, it remains unverified whether these operations involved agents physically entering the site or if they relied on advanced electronic surveillance.
The Fordow facility presented a unique tactical challenge due to its location near the Iranian city of Qom. The uranium enrichment site was constructed roughly 300 feet underground beneath a mountain, shielded by thick layers of reinforced concrete and natural rock. Cohen's disclosure suggests that Mossad's familiarity with the site's internal layout was a prerequisite for the precision required in subsequent military actions.
The B-2 Spirit strike on Fordow's 300-foot depths
The destruction of the Fordow complex occurred on June 22, 2025, as a primary component of the 12-day Operation Rising Lion. According to the source, the strike involved a coordinated effort between high-altitude bombers and maritime assets to dismantle Iran's nuclear infrastructure. The operation included several key tactical elements:
- Seven B-2 Spirit stealth bombers deployed from Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri after an 18-hour flight.
- Six bombers dropped a total of 12 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrator bunker-buster bombs specifically on Fordow.
- A seventh B-2 targeted the Natanz nuclear facility with two additional weapons.
- A U.S. submarine launched over two dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles against infrastructure located in Isfahan.
American forces specifically targeted two ventilation shafts to gain entry to the Fordow complex. Initial strikes were used to clear the concrete Iran had placed over the openings, allowing subsequent bunker-busters to follow the same path deep into the mountain.
A pattern of Mossad penetration from Tehran to Natanz
The revelation regarding Fordow is the latest in a long history of Mossad operations targeting Iran's most sensitive nuclear assets. under Cohen's leadership, the agency executed the 2018 operation to seize a massive secret nuclear archive from a warehouse in Tehran, which contained tens of thousands of digital and physical files. This history of deep penetration also includes the 2020 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, a central figure in Iran's nuclear weapons program.
Mossad has also demonstrated an intimate knowledge of the Natanz centrifuge facility. Cohen previously suggested that Israeli intelligence was responsible for sabotage at the site and once described the underground "cellar" where centrifuges are operated to an interviewer, illustrating a level of access that few other intelligence agencies have achieved.
The hunt for 60-percent enriched uranium at Pickaxe Mountain
The destruction of the primary facilities has left several critical questions regarding the location of Iran's remaining nuclear material.. While much of the stockpile is believed to be buried beneath damaged sites like the Isfahan tunnels, the report notes that Tehran may have transferred material to Pickaxe Mountain, a heavily fortified complex near Natanz. Intelligence agencies are currently struggling to answer three specific questions: exactly how much 60-percent enriched uranium remains, whether the material is successfully hidden within the Pickaxe Mountain complex, and if the explosive mines planted by Iran at Isfahan will prevent U.S. forces from securing the area.
Political leaders have weighed in on the potential for further strikes. During a meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former President Donald Trump suggested that Pickaxe Mountain would be a target if a diplomatic deal is not reached, stating that the U.S. could take the site out "very easily" if necessary.
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