"Red Wedding": Inside Israel’s Secret Strike That Decapitated Iran’s Military Leadership
First Report on a Decapitation Strike That Reshaped the Region
Israel's recent covert operation targeting Iran’s top military leadership was code-named "Red Wedding," a reference to the infamous massacre scene from Game of Thrones. What started as an almost fictional concept became one of the most ambitious and successful operations in Israeli military history, ten senior Iranian commanders eliminated within 12 minutes.
The operation’s planning began in November 2024, when Israeli defense officials initiated operational planning for a large-scale strike designed to inflict a serious blow on Iran’s nuclear project. As IDF forces were engaged with Hezbollah in Lebanon, senior officers from Military Intelligence (AMAN) and the Air Force gathered in a central Israel hotel for a 10-hour session to identify strategic vulnerabilities in Iran’s military infrastructure.
They focused on:
A workshop of 120 officers, from lieutenant colonels to brigadier generals, took place at Unit 8200’s headquarters to analyze intelligence and devise a plan. The challenge was to locate a single point of failure, a figure, safe, or system, that could unravel Iran’s defensive shield.
After months of analysis, the final strategy came together by March 2025. The head of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, declared the mission's goal: to collapse the 1,500-kilometer distance between Israel and Iran, both literally and operationally.
The operation required surgical precision. More than 200 Israeli fighter jets hit over 100 targets across Iran. Each squadron was assigned a set of targets and senior figures within a specific geographic zone. Some commanders were killed in their homes, others at military facilities.
Within minutes, Iran’s chain of command was in disarray.
The IDF reports that during the first hour of the strike, the three highest-ranking military officials in the Iranian regime were confirmed killed:
As hours passed, the list of confirmed kills expanded. According to Israeli officials, this not only shattered the regime’s command capabilities but also delivered a symbolic psychological blow, targeting military figures seen as global icons of Iran’s power.
The name “Red Wedding” wasn’t just metaphorical, it was strategic. In AMAN and the Air Force, the phrase became shorthand for a brutal but effective betrayal masked by apparent calm. The goal: to shatter the enemy’s spine using surprise, creativity, and calculated cruelty.