Vakhtang Kapanadze: Iran was convinced that Israel was not prepared for this strike and was waiting for the conclusion of negotiations with the United States. What can Iran do now? It depends on its air capabilities, in which it is losing to Israel by a ratio of 5 to 1

According to Major General Vakhtang Kapanadze, the secret operation carried out by Israel in Iran was highly successful and had been in preparation for a long time.

As Kapanadze stated on Palitra News' program 360 Degrees, Iran mistakenly believed that Israel was not ready for military action and was waiting for the conclusion of negotiations with the United States.

The general noted that Iranian intelligence services failed to prevent the operation, which he considers a serious failure on their part.

"This was a very well-executed operation that had been in preparation for a long time. Iran was convinced that Israel wasn’t preparing for this strike and was waiting for negotiations with the U.S. to finish. It's important to highlight the failure of Iran’s intelligence services, as they were unable to prevent this operation. The Israelis had tested Iran’s air defense capabilities in 2024. A key part of the operation was the use of weapons that suppressed and blinded Iran’s air defense systems. This was followed by strikes on radar and anti-air systems, and then further strikes on various facilities.

Two uranium mines, three laboratories, two enrichment plants, one nuclear facility under construction, and one known site housing a reactor were destroyed. As for the elimination of Iran’s top officials, I strongly suspect it was a carefully planned operation carried out by agents and intelligence services,” Kapanadze said.

He added that the Israeli special operation might continue until Iran’s potential to develop nuclear weapons is completely neutralized.

“According to reports, Israel has allegedly made it clear that if Iran continues to act against it, Israel will strike Iran’s economic capabilities and destroy its economy. At this stage, the information is not tied to a direct threat.

The special operation may continue until Iran’s potential to produce nuclear weapons is completely dismantled. Available information indicates they had already enriched uranium to 60%. This essentially means they had the capability to produce missiles and nuclear warheads,” said Kapanadze.

He also mentioned that the 100 drones launched by Iran were merely symbolic, intended for domestic audiences. Kapanadze noted that Tehran usually takes a long time to prepare its attacks, but currently, its options are very limited.

"The 100 drones Iran launched were an immediate response meant just for internal audiences. Iran typically takes a long time to prepare its retaliatory strikes against Israel. What can Iran do now? It cannot use its ground forces. It will likely try to rely on Hezbollah and Hamas, but both are severely weakened. Syria is also not in a state where there’s a strong pro-Iranian government. Therefore, Iran will depend on its air capabilities, where it is outmatched 5 to 1 by Israel,” Kapanadze stated.