Yossi Cohen, an Israel ex-top spy, admitted stealing Iran’s nuclear archive.
The operation took place in 2018 where they transferred tens of thousands of documents out of the country to Israel.
He also hinted at Israeli involvement in the destruction of Iran’s nuclear facility at Natanz, and the assassination of a nuclear scientist.
Mr Cohen retired as the head of Mossad last week.
He spoke to journalist Ilana Dayan on Channel 12’s Uvda documentary programme, which was broadcast on Israeli television on Thursday night.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appointed Mr Cohen as Mossad chief in late 2015. He joined the agency in 1982 after studying at university in London, and told the programme he had had “hundreds” of passports throughout his career.
The most revelatory moments in the interview were about the theft of Iran’s nuclear archive.
Mr Netanyahu revealed the stolen files at a press conference in 2018, which he said proved Iran once covertly tried to make nuclear weapons and had secretly retained the know-how – an allegation Iran denied.
Mr Cohen said in the interview that it took two years to plan the operation. In total 20 Mossad agents were involved on the ground – none of whom were Israeli citizens, the journalist Ilana Dayan said.
The spy chief watched the operation from a command centre in Tel Aviv. Agents broke into a warehouse and had to crack more than 30 safes, he said. As images of the trove appeared on screen, “there was incredible excitement for us all,” he said, as quoted by The Times of Israel.
All operatives survived the raid and are well, he added, although some had to be extracted from Iran.
