Gallant: ‘We Knew More About You Than You Knew About Uourselves’ in Open Letter to Khamenei

In a striking open letter sent Thursday, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant directly addressed Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, asserting that Iran’s nuclear aspirations have been thwarted and its regional strategy has collapsed.

The letter, titled “Your Nuclear Dream Has Failed. Now You Must Choose,” offers a stark assessment of recent events and presents a series of choices to the Iranian leader.

Gallant, who served as Defense Minister until recently, stated he had “known you for almost three decades, studying every critical juncture in your leadership,” and had “followed your decisions, your doctrine, and the architecture of proxies you built across the region.”

Gallant claimed responsibility for a “single, coordinated military plan” that “cut through your ‘Ring of Fire’ like a hot knife through butter and ultimately caused it to collapse.”

The former minister referred to a “twelve-day war waged by Israel and the United States against the Iranian nuclear program, air defenses, missile production, and senior military leadership” in June 2025. He characterized this as “not merely a military campaign,” but “the strategic collapse of a system you spent four decades constructing.”

Gallant detailed what he described as Iran’s “Ring of Fire,” designed to “surround Israel with pressure points and distractions: Hamas to the south, Hezbollah to the north, Syria and Iraq to the east, and Houthis to the southeast.” He asserted that the ring “failed.”

He connected the October 7, 2023, attack by Sinwar to Iranian support, stating it “relied on the munitions, training, intelligence, and funding you and your proxies provided to Hamas.” He added, “Perhaps his actions exceeded your intent. But the consequences were yours to bear.” Gallant noted the Israeli response: “The massacre he unleashed was met not with fear, but with resolve, defiance, and eventually, cold conviction that Israel will do whatever it takes to defend itself against the diabolic forces who set out to destroy us, no matter the price.”

Gallant wrote that Israel “systematically dismantled Hamas leadership, Hezbollah arsenals and command, missile production facilities.” He further stated, “We flew over Tehran as we did over Tel Aviv. We eliminated key military leaders and scientists. We struck the S300 systems. We eviscerated your air defense. Your nuclear program and infrastructure was set back by years.” He concluded that Iran’s “shield, long advertised, failed to protect.”

The letter emphasized a pervasive intelligence capability, with Gallant writing, “We see everything. We hear everything. We are everywhere.” He asserted, “We knew your schedules. Your sites. Your communications. Your conversations with your closest allies, most of whom are no longer with you, in Beirut, Damascus, and Tehran. Your timelines. Your fallback plans. And your blind spots.”

Gallant quipped, “In more ways than one, we knew more about you than you knew about yourselves.”

Posing rhetorical questions to Khameni, Galllant wrote: “Can you build a secret nuclear program when you have no secrets?” He cautioned that “To pursue a nuclear weapon now is not a gamble. It is a dream. An act of faith in systems that have already failed you.”

He also addressed Hezbollah’s role, noting, “Time and time again since October 7, Nasrallah has requested permission to enter the war. And time and time again, you refused.” He claimed, “The shield you counted on was never lifted.” Gallant described the current regional landscape as one where “Hezbollah’s arsenal lies in ruins, buried with its commanders. Hamas is neutralized. Assad is gone. His successor has chosen a different path. The Gulf states now align against you, not with you. Iraq resists your grip. The region has moved on.”

Gallant presented Khamenei with three options: “You can rebuild your proxies. But we will destroy them. We can now dismantle in months what took you decades to build,” or “You can accelerate nuclear development. But what you build, we will likely see. What we see, we will strike. And what we strike, you will struggle to replace.” The third option offered was to “negotiate.” He suggested, “But is your regime, built on resistance and ideological rigidity, capable of withstanding the compromises such a path would require?”
Concluding his letter, Gallant stated, “You still have time. But not much.”

The letter ended with an ultimatum for Khamenei: “Continue the pursuit of a nuclear weapon, without cover, without protection, and with limited offensive capacity? We will know. We will foil it. And we will extract a heavy price. Try to rebuild your conventional arsenal, knowing it will take decades? We will delay it, sabotage it, and dismantle it again. OR, Abandon your war against a small, determined country a thousand miles from your border, and focus instead on the welfare and future of your own people.” He warned, “But if you choose wrong again, we will be there, waiting.”