Blow-by-blow account of attack

Waking up on Friday the 13th, many of us may have missed Israel’s pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear power, called Operation Rising Lion.

Two open-source intelligence platforms on Twitter gave a blow-by-blow account of what was happening in the Middle East. They are OSINTdefender, whose feed describes it is as an open-source intelligence monitor focused on Europe and conflicts across the world; and Open Source Intel, which describes itself as monitoring real-time news and providing open-source intelligence on the Middle East, the United States, and global events. These platforms are unverified by the SA Jewish Report, but make for interesting reading.

OSINTdefender predicted that the strike against Iran could start on Sunday, 15 June, tweeting at 11:15 on 12 June, “Israel could launch strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities as soon as Sunday unless Iran agrees to halt the production of fissile material that can be used to produce a nuclear weapon, according to the Wall Street Journal. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly raised the possibility of strikes against Iran in a phone conversation with US President [Donald] Trump on Monday, sparking the recent evacuation of diplomats from Iraq and the departure of military dependents across the Middle East. US officials say intelligence received in recent days indicates that Israel is preparing for strikes against Iran.”

Then at 01:52 on 13 June, OSINTdefender tweeted, “Israeli strikes against nuclear facilities in Iran could come on Friday, according to Israeli military officials.”

At 02:00, it tweeted that sirens were sounding across Israel. One minute later, OSINTdefender tweeted, “Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has declared an emergency across Israel due to ongoing strikes now against Iran.”

As early as 02:06, it tweeted that flights headed towards Tel Aviv had begun to turn around, saying, “Commercial flights heading to Tel Aviv have begun to turn around over the Eastern Mediterranean.”

At 02:16, it tweeted, “The Israeli Home Front Command has instructed Israelis to shelter-in-place due to the ongoing military action in Iran.”

At 03:10, it tweeted, “Israeli Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu states that the military operation against Iran will continue for as many days as needed.”

At 03:31, it tweeted, “Israeli Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, following tonight’s strikes against Iran, ‘We launched the strike because the time had come; we reached the point of no return. We cannot wait for another time to act; we have no choice. History, both distant and recent, has taught us that in the face of ambitions to destroy us, we must not bow our heads, and so we fight to preserve our existence. Freedom is granted to those who are willing to fight for it.’”

At 03:43, Open Source Intel tweeted on X, “The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] chief of staff has announced the immediate call-up of tens of thousands of soldiers.”

Then at 03:56, it tweeted, “Iran’s state TV reports that General Gholamali Rashid, the deputy commander of the armed forces, and nuclear scientist Fereydoun Abbasi have been killed, according to The New York Times.”

At 03:54, OSINTdefender tweeted, “The headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] in the Iranian capital of Tehran was reportedly hit with multiple missiles, destroying the entire building and igniting several fires, which are still raging, according to local sources in Tehran.”

At 03:56, OSINTdefender tweeted, “The former head of the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran, Fereydoon Abbasi-Davani, is confirmed to have been eliminated by tonight’s Israeli strikes on Tehran.”

At 04:00 OSINTdefender tweeted, “The commander of the Khatam-al Anbiya Central Headquarters of the Iranian General Staff, Major General Gholam Ali Rashid, is confirmed to have been eliminated in tonight’s strikes on Tehran.”

At 04:04 Open Source Intel tweeted, “‘Iran prepares to declare war on Israel’ – state media. In reality, they declared war over 40 years ago.”

At 04:14, Open Source Intel tweeted, “Israel’s pre-emptive strikes appear to have killed both the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces and the commander-in-chief of the IRGC.”

At 04:24 Open Source Intel tweeted, “Schools in Israel nationwide have been cancelled. The education ministry reports that 38 active school trips are underway, and is directing all groups to safe locations and secure transport.”

At 05:05, Open Source Intel tweeted, “Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei accuses Israel of striking Iranian residential areas this morning, saying ‘several commanders and scientists were martyred’, and warns the ‘Zionist regime’ to expect ‘severe punishment’. He vows Iran’s armed forces ‘will not abandon’ a response. – Official statement”

At 05:27, OSINTdefender tweeted, “The Israeli Air Force has so far carried out five waves of strikes against targets inside Iran, with hundreds of strikes having been conducted against Iranian nuclear sites, military sites, and top military and nuclear officials.”

At 05:31, OSINTdefender tweeted, “The chief of general staff of the Iranian Armed Forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, is now confirmed to have been eliminated last night by an Israeli strike on Tehran.”

At 05:37, Open Source Intel tweeted, “High alert for possible Iranian retaliation: light rail service in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem has been suspended, and rescue services are calling on Israelis across the country to donate blood – via @N12News.”

At 06:13, OSINTdefender tweeted, “Both the leader of the Iranian Armed Forces and the IRGC were killed during last night’s strikes by Israel, this is beyond militarily crippling for Iran.”

At 06:24, OSINTdefender tweeted, “Ali Shamkhani, the senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and member of the Expediency Discernment Council, has now died, following reports earlier that he had been ‘critically injured’ by an Israeli airstrike last night on his home in the Iranian capital of Tehran.”

At 06:25, Open Source Intel tweeted, “A security source told IDF [Israel Defense Forces] Radio, ‘We eliminated over 10 Iranian nuclear scientists in the initial strike. These individuals are considered key ‘knowledge centres’ within Iran’s nuclear programme.’”

At 06:31, Magen David Adom; Israel’s national emergency medical services; national blood services; Israel’s National Society; and members of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, tweeted, “Magen David Adom’s blood services are mobilising across Israel as part of emergency preparations due to the increased security threats.”

06:50, Open Source Intel tweeted, “The Iranian military has confirmed that IRGC Commander Hossein Salami and Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri were both killed in the Israeli airstrikes.”

Ten minutes later, at 07:00, OSINTdefender tweeted, “The Israel Defense Forces reports that Iran has launched over 100 drones in the past hour against Israeli territory, and that efforts are being made to intercept them before they reach Israel. The drones could take up to seven hours to cross Iraq, Syria, and Jordan before eventually reaching Israel.”

At 07:06 Open Source Intel tweeted, “IDF spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, says over 200 Israeli Air Force jets took part in this morning’s strikes on Iran, dropping more than 330 munitions. He confirms the elimination of the most senior Iranian officials, including Armed Forces Chief Mohammad Bagheri; IRGC Chief Hossein Salami; and Khatam-al Anbiya Commander Gholam Ali Rashid. Additional top figures were also killed.”

At 07:41, Open Source Intel tweeted martyrs posters, “Top brass all eliminated.”

At 07:43, Open Source Intel tweeted, “The headquarters of the IRGC Aerospace Force was bombed.”

At 07:58, OSINTdefender tweeted, “Assessments in Israel are that more senior officials than just the few announced so far were eliminated in last night’s strikes on the Iranian capital of Tehran.”

At 08:01, Open Source Intel tweeted, “Embassies in Israel have been instructed to shelter in place.”

At 08:39 Open Source Intel tweeted, “ Iran has requested an emergency United Nations Security Council meeting over the Israeli strike, according to Tasnim News citing Iran’s UN mission.”

At 09:05, OSINTdefender tweeted, “Sky News reports that the British Royal Air Force is currently not assisting with the defense of Israel against drones launched by Iran, though this could change with additional forces potentially being sent to RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus.”

At 09:16, OSINTdefender tweeted, “N12 News, an Israeli official has said that the military operation against Iran will continue for at least two weeks.”

At 09:32, Open Source Intel tweeted, “An Israeli security source reveals that Mossad built a secret drone base inside Iran ahead of this morning’s operation. Explosive drones launched from the base targeted ballistic missile launchers near Tehran, disrupting Iran’s ability to retaliate as Israeli strikes began. In parallel, a Mossad commando unit deployed precision-guided weapons near key air defence systems in central Iran. The systems were hit, clearing the path for Israeli jets.”

At 09:46, OSINTdefender tweeted, “The Natanz nuclear facility in central Iran is reported to have been totally destroyed by this morning’s strikes from Israel.”

At 10:48, OSINTdefender tweeted, “The Lebanese government has reportedly informed Hezbollah that it will not allow them to join any kind of military action or retaliation against Israel in support of Iran, adding that the era in which they bypass the country when it comes to declaring war is over.”