Mossad Director David Barnea thanked the men and women working for the agency after the success of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion.

He also expressed his appreciation to the U.S. — particularly the CIA — for their work in countering Iran’s nuclear program.

«These are historic days for the people of Israel. The Iranian threat, which endangered our security for decades, has been significantly thwarted thanks to the extraordinary cooperation between the IDF, which led the campaign, and the Mossad, which operated alongside it, with the support of our ally, the United States,» Barnea said.

INSIDE ISRAEL’S SECRET WAR IN IRAN: MOSSAD COMMANDOS, HIDDEN DRONES AND THE STRIKE THAT STUNNED TEHRAN

The Mossad, Israel’s equivalent of the CIA, had personnel in Iran ready for the launch of Operation Rising Lion, something that was revealed in unprecedented fashion when the agency released video of its operatives at work.

Ahead of the U.S. strikes in the early hours of Sunday morning, Iranian time, there was speculation whether Washington and Jerusalem were coordinating. President Donald Trump made it clear after the strikes that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had been working together behind the scenes.

«I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team — like perhaps no team has ever worked before — and we’ve gone a long way to erasing this horrible threat to Israel,» Trump said in his address to the nation following the strikes on Iran.

A map of the U.S. strikes on Iran. (Fox News)

US STRIKES SET IRAN’S NUCLEAR PROGRAM BACK ‘MANY YEARS,’ ISRAELI ASSESSMENT FINDS

While Barnea expressed his gratitude to Israeli and American forces alike, he also said that «the mission is not yet complete.»

«The Mossad will continue, with determination, to monitor, track, and act to thwart the threats against us — just as we always have — for the sake of the State of Israel and its people,» Barnea said.

President Donald Trump, right, listens during a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House on April 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, said on Tuesday that the country was assessing the damage and preparing to restore the facilities, according to Reuters. He added that Iran’s «plan is to prevent interruptions in the process of production and services.»

Both Trump and Netanyahu vowed to respond if Iran rebuilds its nuclear program.

“Ya no tiene vida política”

¿Fraude en las primarias del 2014?

Andrew Cuomo is not dropping out of the race for New York City mayor.

Cuomo, the former three-term New York State governor who resigned from office in 2021 amid multiple scandals, has decided, for now, to move ahead and run in the general election as an independent candidate, two sources confirmed to Fox News on Thursday night.

The announcement by Cuomo came three days after progressive upstart Zohran Mamdani shocked the political world, as he topped Cuomo and the rest of the 11-candidate field in heavily blue New York City’s Democratic Party mayoral primary and took a big step toward becoming the first Muslim mayor of the nation’s most populous city.

Mamdani, a 33-year-old democratic socialist state assemblyman from Queens who originally hailed from Uganda, captured 43.5% of the first round unofficial primary results, with Cuomo at 36.4%.

REPUBLICANS USE MAMDANI BOMBSHELL VICTORY OVER CUOMO AS AMMUNITION TO BLAST DEMOCRATS AS EXTREMISTS

While he acknowledged Mamdani’s victory in the primary, Cuomo left the door open to a November run as an independent candidate, which election rules in New York State permit.

«I want to look at all the numbers as they come in and analyze the rank choice voting. I will then consult with my colleagues on what is the best path for me to help the City of New York, as I have already qualified to run for mayor on an independent line in November,» Cuomo said in a statement.

Cuomo was facing an end-of-the-day Friday deadline for candidates who had already qualified to run as independents to decline that independent ballot line.

The former governor will keep his place that he already secured earlier this year on the «Fight & Deliver» ballot line. But the sources said that Cuomo had not committed yet to running an active general election campaign through the summer and into the autumn. 

If Cuomo drops out of the race at a later date, his name will stay on the general election ballot.

Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, in a speech to supporters, acknowledges that rival Zohran Mamdani ‘won’ the New York City Democratic Party mayoral primary, on June 24, 2025, in New York, N.Y. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

Once a longshot in the race, Mamdani closed the gap with Cuomo during the final stretch of the primary race thanks to an energetic campaign that focused in part on New York City’s high cost of living.

Endorsements by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive rock star and New York City’s most prominent leader on the left, and by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, the progressive champion and two-time Democratic presidential nominee runner-up, helped Mamdani consolidate much of New York City’s Democratic Party base

WHAT MAMDANI’S STUNNING PRIMARY VICTORY MEANS FOR DEMOCRATS NATIONWIDE 

And Mamdani rode a wave of support from younger and first-time voters to catapult himself into first place.

«I will be the mayor for every New Yorker,» Mamdani said in his victory speech. «Whether you voted for me, or for Governor Cuomo, or felt too disillusioned by a long broken political system to vote at all, I will fight for a city that works for you, that is affordable for you, that is safe for you.»

Since none of the candidates topped 50%, counting technically now heads into rounds of ranked-choice elimination. But the combined totals of votes Mamdani and other aligned progressive candidates won are likely to be more than enough to topple Cuomo as the ranked-choice tabulations begin on July 1.

Cuomo, seeing the writing on the wall, admitted defeat and complimented Mamdani as the initial primary results poured in on Tuesday, telling supporters that «tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.»

Cuomo, in an interview on Wednesday with CBS New York, noted that «in the general election, more people come out to vote. It’s a broader pool, if you will, of New Yorkers, more representative pool of New Yorkers.»

«There are about 5 million voters in New York City, there are about 8 million people in New York City, and about 1 million people vote in the Democratic primary. So it’s not, necessarily, representative of the city at large,» the former governor said.

Former New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner in the race for the New York City Democratic Party mayoral primary, speaks to a large crowd of union supporters, on primary eve, June 23, 2025. (Paul Steinhauser – Fox News)

And a poll from a consulting and lobbying group that was aligned with an outside group supporting Cuomo released a poll on Thursday that suggested Mamdani and Cuomo tied in a possible general election matchup, with incumbent Mayor Eric Adams – a Democrat who’s running for re-election as an independent – and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa far behind.

Sliwa, the founder of the volunteer crime-fighting patrols known as the Guardian Angels, ran for a second straight election cycle. Also running this November as an independent is former federal prosecutor Jim Walden.

Asked if Cuomo should drop out of the race, Mamdani said Thursday in an interview with Fox News affiliate WNYW in New York that «I think there’s room for everyone because, ultimately, we’re going to win it.»

The 67-year-old Cuomo has spent the past four years fighting to clear his name after 11 sexual harassment accusations, which he has repeatedly denied, forced his resignation. He was also under investigation at the time for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic amid allegations his administration vastly understated COVID-related deaths at state nursing homes. 

Last month, the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Cuomo after Republicans accused him of lying to Congress about the decisions he made as governor during the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuomo, thanks to his name recognition, was the front-runner in the polls even before he announced his candidacy earlier this year. But he ran a safe campaign that relied on union support, and he shied away from often engaging with local or national media.

Mamdani, meanwhile, made smart use of social media platforms, including TikTok, as he engaged the primary electorate. He proposed eliminating fares to ride New York City’s vast bus system, making CUNY (City University of New York) «tuition-free,» freezing rents on municipal housing, offering «free childcare» for children up to age five, and setting up government-run grocery stores.

New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks during a campaign launch rally at City Hall, Thursday, June. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura) (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Adams, in formally launching his campaign on Thursday on the steps of City Hall, said «this is a city not of socialism,» in an obvious jab at Mamdani’s proposals.

«There’s no dignity in someone giving you everything for free. There’s dignity in giving you a job, so you can provide for your family and the opportunities that you deserve. This is not a city of handouts. This is a city of hands up.»

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Adams’ poll numbers were sinking even before he was indicted last year on five counts, which accused the mayor of bribery and fraud as part of an alleged «long-running» scheme to personally profit from contacts with foreign officials.

The mayor made repeated overtures to President Donald Trump, and the Justice Department earlier this year dismissed the corruption charges, so Adams could potentially work with the Trump administration on its illegal immigration crackdown.

He announced in early April that he would run for re-election as an independent and forgo the Democratic primary.