ALBAWABA - The U.S. depended on intelligence skills backed by unique technology to carry out clandestine operations inside Iran, CIA Director John Ratcliffe said. Ratcliffe said American technological superiority is still a game-changer in modern combat.
Ratcliffe, speaking at a technology summit on Tuesday, said the Central Intelligence Agency had provided highly accurate intelligence that allowed U.S. forces to carry out complex military missions in Iran and Venezuela. Innovation was the key to Washington’s recent operational successes, Ratcliffe said.
Ratcliffe said the agency played a key role in Operation Midnight Hammer, providing intelligence that allowed over 120 U.S. aircraft to enter Iranian airspace undetected and conduct precision strikes against nuclear facilities before Iranian forces could detect or respond to the operation.
He also pointed to the CIA’s involvement in Operation Epic Rage, where the agency was able to locate and rescue the crew of a downed McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle inside of Iran despite what he called major operational hurdles.
Ratcliffe said the rescue effort showed the agency’s capacity to integrate technological technology with intelligence experience and that the operation bamboozled Iranian authorities and could only have been carried out with capabilities unique to the CIA.
Operation Midnight Hammer, the US strike in June 2025, when seven Northrop B-2 Spirit bombers hit Iran's nuclear sites in Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. Ratcliffe also mentioned Operation Epic Rage, launched on orders from U.S. President Donald Trump, as another example of intelligence-driven military operations within Iran.
