- How did Mossad penetrate Iran so effectively?
- How can peace be won on the “day after” the war?
When history repeats, we have a meaningful opportunity to learn. As we watch the unfolding war between Iran and Israel, I find myself drawn to the quiet, unseen work of those who once dared to build bridges—in shadows and in silence. My dear friend Ofer Nimrodi shared unforgettable stories with me about his father, Colonel Jackob Nimrodi. Listening to Ofer, I was struck not only by the danger Jackob faced but by the humanity he carried into every mission. I couldn’t help but feel a flicker of hope. That one day very soon, Israel and Iran may move from war to understanding and restore to prior peaceful coordination. Thanks in part to the footsteps left behind by men like Jackob Nimrodi.
There are two timely questions of paramount interest:
- How did Israel cultivate such a penetrating and precise invisible Mossad espionage network inside Iran?
- How can peace be restored following the “day after” the war?
In exploring the legacy of Colonel Jackob Nimrodi, we can find answers to both questions.
Jackob’s daring and creative leadership established the first Mossad operation in Iran. As a result of the collective efforts of Colonel Nimrodi and many others, Israel and Iran developed a close interconnected relationship. In fact, Iran assisted Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur war by defying the OPEC oil embargo and delivering critical oil supplies to Israel. Prime Minister Golda Meir made this request for oil via Colonel Jackob Nimrodi to deliver to the Shah of Iran. The Shah honored PM Meir’s request as a show of respect to Israel, Colonel Nimrodi, and the Ambassador and team which had helped Iran in many ways. As a reciprocal gesture, the Prime Minister of Israel granted the Shah’s request to have Jackob’s position in Iran renewed at the end of each term.
As an expression of fellowship, in 1977, Iran’s Deputy Defense Minister Hassan Toufanian met with Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman in a secret visit to discuss military technology cooperation. Toufanian visited Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust museum and was said to have wept openly at the devastation endured by the Jewish people at the evil hands of the Nazis.
To many, these times of cooperation and empathy between Iran and Israel may seem unimaginable. Yet, prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution, mutual respect and harmony did exist. It is from the lessons of the past that we can hold a hopeful view for the once-fertile soil of peace and understanding to bloom again.
The Legacy of Jackob Nimrodi: Born of Faith, Rooted in Trust, Trained by Mossad
Jackob Nimrodi was no ordinary Mossad agent. He was Israel’s first military attaché to Iran. A Baghdad-born Jew who helped shape one of the most consequential intelligence relationships in Israeli history. In the 1950s and 60s, during a delicate but real alliance between Iran and Israel, Nimrodi helped build a deep Mossad presence in Tehran coordinating with many talented colleagues. His quiet charisma and strategic brilliance created the blueprint for many intelligence networks that persist to this day.
Nimrodi understood the operational power of espionage. While larger enemies may have bigger weapons, the Mossad leverages human intelligence and relationships to make an even greater impact. They use the elements of surprise, precision, and trust. As Proverbs 27:17 teaches: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” Military strength alone is not enough; it is human networks that make strategy meaningful.
He, along with other key Israel members, were instrumental in a mission that sounds like a movie but changed history: Operation Diamond. A MiG-21, the Soviet Union’s top fighter jet, was an enigma to the West until Israel acquired one through a daring Mossad plan led by Meir Amit and facilitated on the ground by Nimrodi. The story involved a disillusioned Iraqi Christian pilot named Munir Redfa, covert lovers in Baghdad, a secret Greek island meeting, coded radio signals, and a dramatic defection flight to Israel. Redfa’s breaking point came when he was ordered to bomb Kurdish villages, many of them populated with Christian civilians. Nimrodi’s deep understanding of human motivation helped bring Redfa to safety, along with the jet that changed the balance of power. Later, Israel transferred important insights and knowledge about the MiG21 to the United States Air Force.
Less than a year later, in the Six-Day War, Israel dominated the skies. But the true miracle wasn’t just military, it was moral. Nimrodi and his colleagues didn’t just recruit agents; they built bridges with Kurds, Iranians, and others across the Middle East. They found human connections in the most unexpected places.
The Mossad Today: Carrying Nimrodi’s Legacy Forward
That spirit of bold, unconventional strategy continues today. Deep inside Iran, the Mossad has carried out some of the most daring operations in modern history:
- Stealing Iran’s nuclear archive from a Tehran warehouse and smuggling it to Israel in one night.
- Assassinating top Iranian nuclear scientists with pinpoint accuracy.
- Constructing a drone launch facility inside Iran and assembling UAVs near military sites to disable missile systems from within.
- Conducting sabotage missions, using micro-drones to cripple radar and missile systems ahead of Israeli strikes.
- Orchestrating a bunker strike by luring IRGC Aerospace Force leaders into a Tehran bunker via fake communications, then eliminating the command center before missiles could be launched.
These are not simple stunts, they are the digital descendants of Nimrodi’s legacy. His maps are now algorithms. His intelligence networks now live in encrypted threads. But the foundation of faith is unchanged: trust in Hashem and with team members, local bravery, and relentless commitment to protecting Israel through precision, not force alone.
In a poetic twist, even the Tehran Times published an obituary for Colonel Jackob Nimrodi when he passed at age 97 in 2023, calling him a “Mossad kingpin.” Even adversaries remembered when Israel and Iran once stood as allies.
A Path Toward Peace
Today, as Israel and Iran are at war, I return to the quiet courage of Jackob Nimrodi. His story reminds us that espionage is conducted for a reason and not a season, only Hashem knows the actual timing. It is about the unseen efforts of many team members that plant the seeds of future peace. I remember Ofer’s story of traveling on military flights with his father and camping under the stars, with the sounds of bombs nearby. Despite the danger, Jackob made his son feel safe.
May this reflection on the past serve as a small beacon of hope for the future. As Isaiah 2:4 teaches, one day enemies “will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
We light candles to remember those who have passed. In Colonel Jackob Nimrodi’s case, his legacy is a flame still flickering in the distance—a reminder that even amid war, there is always a path, however hidden, back toward peace.
May we have the strength, the vision, and the faith over the coming days and weeks to support Israel, the IDF, Mossad, the United States, and our regional allies in defeating Iran’s IRGC terror leadership. May we help free the Iranian people from captivity of the IRGC and the world from the grip of Tehran’s campaign of terror.
May we imagine a new Middle East, blessed with the soon to be expanding Abraham Peace Accords, free of terror, and full of the promise of peace and prosperity.
Enjoy a haiku inspired by this blog:
Silent spies at work,
Bridges built through trust and risk,
Hope blooms beyond war.
Appendix:
You can read more about Colonel Jackob Nimrodi here.
Commemorating the Avengers:
Spylegends.com has created a set of Medals to commemorate the missions of Mossad, like Operation Diamond.
The purpose of these medals is to:
- Remember those lost
- Honor those who acted
- Deter those who plot harm
The courage of such spies, ancient and modern, finds a quiet tribute in the work of Spy Legends, a website dedicated to preserving the legacy of espionage and missions of Mossad.
Through their collection of commemorative medals, Spy Legends honors the valor of operatives, each piece a testament to missions that shaped history. These medals, etched with codes, symbols, and intricate details, are more than artifacts; they are seeds of memory, carrying the stories of bravery into the future. Accompanied by brochures that illuminate the missions’ significance, they serve as educational tools, inviting us to reflect on the sacrifices made in the shadows.
Breaking Matzo readers can get a 10% discount on these commemorative medals using the promo code: breakingmatzo
