From Netanyahu's bogus vacation to fake diplomatic talks with US: How Israel fooled Iran before the strike

In the early hours of Friday, Israel unleashed a powerful wave of airstrikes across Iran, targeting nuclear facilities and key military sites. The assault killed at least two senior Iranian military officers and marked the most intense attack on Iranian soil since the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s—bringing the region dangerously close to a broader war.

Iran responded swiftly, launching a swarm of drones toward Israel. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed “severe punishment,” signaling that the confrontation is far from over.

The strikes came at a moment of peak tension over Iran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. Just a day earlier, the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors formally censured Iran for the first time in 20 years, citing non-cooperation with nuclear inspectors. In defiance, Tehran immediately announced plans to build a third uranium enrichment site and replace its centrifuges with more advanced models.


While Israeli officials framed the operation as a necessary move to stop Iran from building a nuclear bomb, it remains uncertain how close Tehran truly is to achieving that capability.

Yet, it wasn't just military might that gave Israel the upper hand—it was strategic deception.

Just hours before the assault, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid a visit to Jerusalem’s Western Wall, placing a note quoting a biblical verse: “Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion.”

This line from the Book of Numbers (23:24) later revealed itself as the inspiration for the name of the mission: Operation Rising Lion. The note, made public only after the strikes began, served as a symbolic signal of what was to come.

Behind the scenes, Israeli intelligence had carefully orchestrated a misinformation campaign to mislead Tehran, according to a report of The Jerusalem Post. In the days leading up to the operation, the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly leaked false military strategies, staged a bogus vacation for Netanyahu, and used diplomatic talks with the United States as a smokescreen to divert attention from the impending strike.

By early Friday morning, dozens of Israeli fighter jets roared into Iranian airspace, targeting nuclear enrichment facilities and military infrastructure in a coordinated and sustained wave of attacks. Among the casualties was Hossein Salami, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, whose death was later confirmed by Iranian state media.