Former Mossad Chief Says He Visited Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Facility “Several Times”
Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen has claimed that Israeli operatives visited Iran’s Fordow uranium-enrichment facility several times to gain a better understanding of the site.
Speaking at an event in Safed, Cohen said:
“We visited the Fordow nuclear facility many times in order to understand the site better.”
He did not specify when the visits took place or who was directly involved in the operations.
Cohen also welcomed the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, saying:
“For the Americans to bomb it was the fulfillment of all my dreams.”
Fordow, along with Natanz and Isfahan, was heavily targeted during the 12-day Israel-Iran war in June. Reports have claimed that approximately 440 kilograms of highly enriched uranium stored at the sites may have been affected, although questions remain over how much material survived and where it may have been moved.
Israel has reportedly assessed that some of Iran’s enriched uranium was transferred to Pickaxe Mountain before or during the conflict.
Cohen also argued that uranium enriched to 60% is still far from being a nuclear bomb, a position that contrasts with assessments from nuclear experts such as David Albright, who have warned that 60%-enriched uranium can potentially be further enriched to weapons-grade levels within a relatively short period.
Cohen has previously spoken publicly about Mossad operations against Iran. Shortly after leaving the agency in 2021, he gave an unusually detailed Israeli television interview in which he indirectly acknowledged Mossad involvement in the sabotage of Iran’s Natanz centrifuge facility.
He also discussed the 2018 Mossad operation that seized Iran’s nuclear archives and confirmed that senior Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh had been a Mossad target for years before his assassination.
In another interview on Israel’s Channel 12 program Uvda, Cohen demonstrated extensive knowledge of Iran’s nuclear facilities and said that, given the opportunity, he would have targeted the underground section of Natanz, where he said uranium-enrichment equipment was located.
The revelations have once again raised questions about the scale of Israel’s intelligence penetration inside Iran and how much of the country’s nuclear infrastructure was compromised before and during the conflict.
Who Is Winning the War?
The answer remains far from clear. Israel and the United States have demonstrated significant intelligence and strike capabilities, while Iran has shown that it can continue operating and retaliating despite major losses.
The real measure of victory may ultimately depend on whether Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been permanently dismantled—or whether Tehran succeeds in rebuilding them.