One hundred Mossad operatives were deployed inside Iran to install and operate smuggled heavy missile systems, which were used to disable missile launchers and air-defense batteries at the start of June’s 12-day war, according to a documentary by Israel’s Channel 13.
“My teacher wanted me to take off my clothes,” said Farid, a survivor who spoke to the reformist Shargh newspaper under a pseudonym.
The paper’s reporter collected detailed, often graphic recollections from men who described being touched, groped or coerced into sexual acts in settings where they expected safety.
Amir-Ali, now 32, recalled a taxi ride in which a passenger repeatedly pressed his body close and then placed a hand on his thigh. He said he felt powerless, ashamed and unable to tell friends or family.
“I didn’t speak to anyone — I thought I’d be mocked,” he told the reporter.
Majid described being molested on a crowded metro: the man next to him repeatedly adjusted his hand until the touching became unmistakable. He said he moved away without protest because embarrassment and fear made him freeze. “It was so strange and scary,” Majid added. “I just wanted to get off at the next stop.”
Far more sustained abuse appears in other accounts. Javid recounted grooming and repeated sexual exploitation by a 25-year-old assistant coach at a youth football class. He says the coach showed explicit videos, demanded sexual acts and pressured boys to comply, leaving Javid depressed and withdrawn for years.
Some victims described telling only a single friend or, in a few cases, later raising the matter in therapy — and even then withholding details.
Another survivor, Sepehr, said a close relative forced him into sexual acts from the age of ten and that he has only ever disclosed the abuse in psychotherapy. He feared family fallout and shame: “I was scared that people in the family would find out,” he told Shargh.
Shame, silence and long-term harm
The dominant theme is shame, according to psychologist Parisa Pouyan, who works on social-harm issues.
“They often feel their masculinity and sexual identity are questioned; for many, the violation is deeply humiliating,” she added. Pouyan warned that the silence compounds harm: survivors commonly suffer depression, social withdrawal and difficulties forming intimate relationships long after the assaults.
Legal advocates say institutional barriers deepen invisibility. Although Iran’s statutes do not formally distinguish male and female victims, “in practice, the numbers and the follow-through are very different,” Monica Nadi, a lawyer experienced in social-harm cases, told the paper.
She pointed to stigma, a lack of male-oriented support services and the legal difficulties of proving sexual crimes — lost physical evidence, absent witnesses and delayed reporting — as reasons why men rarely pursue judicial remedies.
Settings and system failures
Shargh’s investigation found incidents in boys’ schools, sports clubs, family homes, barracks, prisons, taxis and metro cars.
Several interviewees said suspected perpetrators were later moved between institutions rather than removed from positions of authority after being exposed for their harassment, risking further abuse.
The paper’s reporting calls for targeted steps: breaking cultural taboos, expanding counselling and support services for male survivors, training educators and staff, and improving mechanisms for reporting and evidence collection.
Survivors and experts warned that without systemic reform, many victims will continue to carry trauma in silence and cycles of abuse may persist.
“I told him: 'We have to do it.’ And he said, ‘You’re right, it’s gotta be done,’” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recalled of informing US President Donald Trump about the planned operation, according to the documentary.
The new Channel 13 documentary describes what it calls an unprecedented mission — both in scale and technical demands.
Specially trained agents deployed inside Iran installed and operated smuggled heavy missile systems, which were then used to strike the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile launchers and air-defense batteries, aiding Israel’s broader campaign, the report said.
Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program began under Trump’s administration with a 60-day ultimatum. On day 61, June 13, Israel launched its surprise 12-day campaign, coinciding with the eve of the sixth round of talks with Washington.
By the ninth day of fighting, the US carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, with Trump later boasting they had “obliterated” the program.
The Israeli operation involved about 100 foreign operatives, raising major logistical and command challenges, the report said. Channel 13's interviews with senior ministers suggest broader aims beyond disabling equipment: damaging underground facilities, weakening command structures and shaping events to sway US policy.
According to the report, leaders even discussed targeting Iran’s supreme leader if the chance arose.
Defense Minister Israel Katz is quoted as saying, “If there had been an opportunity, we would have [targeted him].”
Netanyahu reportedly told defense officials: “We are going to destroy the Iranian nuclear project as best we can. We aren’t waiting for a green light from the US, and it doesn’t matter if they say no.”
Secrecy, risk and the politics of optics
Secrecy was paramount, the documentary said. Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar recounted discussing a friend’s daughter’s upcoming wedding even as he knew it would not go ahead due to the looming offensive. Even families of top officials were mostly kept uninformed.
Brig. Gen. Gilad Keinan, the Israeli Air Force operations chief, said confidence was high in recovering downed crews, but extracting them from Iran was less certain. He added that many Iranian jets stayed grounded for fear of being shot down by their own defenses.
Cabinet transcripts revealed concern with optics. Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer suggested images of destruction would help persuade Trump.
Netanyahu agreed, urging strikes on fuel tanks and a Basij facility, vowing to deliver a “birthday greeting” to the US president in the form of a decisive blow, according to the documentary.
Channel 13 said nuclear and missile sites were damaged and nuclear materials partly destroyed in the operation.
Air attacks killed nuclear scientists along with hundreds of military personnel and civilians.
Tehran answered with over 500 ballistic missiles and 1,100 drones, inflicting heavy casualties and widespread destruction, killing 31 Israeli civilians and one off-duty soldier.
