“Even if a nuclear deal is signed, it will not give Iran immunity from Mossad operations. We won't take part in this charade and we don't close our eyes to the proven truth," Israel’s spy agency director David Barnea warned in a Sept. 12 speech.

“I make it clear to the Iranian regime: There will be no room for deniability. The Mossad and its partners will continue to expose those responsible for terrorist attacks and they will have no immunity, from the last of the operatives to the top decision-makers. We will not hound Iran’s proxies; we will persecute those in Tehran who sent them,” Barnea added, addressing a counterterrorism conference at Reichman University in a rare public appearance.

His comments affirmed Israel’s “octopus head” policy adopted by former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. It shifted the focus to those in Tehran deemed responsible for terrorist attacks abroad rather than their proxy militias and agents. The comments by the Israeli government's main agent in its fight against Iran's nuclear program and terrorism highlight the escalating shadow war between the two regional powers.

Barnea's remarks came on the day Iran unveiled a new long-range “suicide drone,” the ARASH2, apparently designed to hit the Israeli cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. (Jerusalem, which is also sacred to Islam, is apparently immune). According to a senior Iranian military official quoted by the semi-official Mehr news agency, "This drone, just like a wondrous bird, was built specifically to destroy the Zionist state that kills children."