Israel has vowed to unleash a fresh wave of Mossad attacks on Iranian soil in response to any aggression by its proxy militias from now on, sources in Jerusalem have confirmed to the JC.

Intelligence experts have likened the new policy to “targeting the head of the octopus” rather than the tentacles.

The step-change comes as Iran has returned to the nuclear negotiating table in Vienna this week.

Mossad has conducted a series of spectacular operations against Iran in recent years, including the destruction of an atomic facility in Natanz earlier this year, as revealed in detail for the first time in the JC today, and the killing of scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the methods of which were disclosed by the JC in February.

Israel is now turning up the pressure on the theocracy, hitting Tehran directly in response to aggression by Hezbollah and other Iranian proxy groups in the region. A source confirmed: “This policy is beginning.”

The regime has long pursued a campaign against Israel and its allies, funding terror groups in Gaza and Lebanon and targeting shipping in the Gulf. Speaking last week, Israeli prime minister Naftali Bennett said: “[The Iranians] pester us from afar, inflict damage on us, almost without leaving their homes. They make us bleed without paying a price for it .”

He warned: “Hunting down the terrorist-of-the-day that is operated by the Quds Force is just no longer logical. We have to get to the dispatchers.”

It comes as Israeli military chiefs continue to plan a full-on assault on Iran’s nuclear facilities, should the international community fail to stop Tehran’s progress towards the bomb.

Speaking in an interview in today’s JC, Israel’s foreign minister Yair Lapid warned: “While we know we are not alone in our push to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, Israel will always defend itself, by itself.”

This week, Mr Lapid signed a landmark defence and trade deal with his British counterpart, Liz Truss, who made clear the UK’s commitment to Israeli security.

She told the Sunday Telegraph: “The clock is ticking, which heightens the need for close cooperation with our partners and friends to thwart Tehran’s ambitions.”