According to Mauro, U.S. intelligence agencies had meticulously prepared the necessary groundwork to track down a missing colonel within Iran. He explained on Monday that this intricate operation was built on intelligence that had been gathered well before the mission’s onset.

“You collect, you collect, you collect, and sometimes you might never use it,” Mauro remarked on “Fox & Friends,” stressing the importance of having the information ready when it’s needed most.

Mauro cited the operation targeting Nicolás Maduro, initiated by the Trump administration in January, as an example. He noted how U.S. forces successfully anticipated the whereabouts of the Venezuelan leader and his spouse, facilitating a strategic capture.

Meanwhile, War Secretary Pete Hegseth was seen shaking hands with an American airman during a confidential visit to troops stationed in the region, as part of a CENTCOM mission. (War Secretary/X)

War Secretary Pete Hegseth shakes the hand of an American airman on a covert CENTCOM visit with troops in theater. (War Secretary/X)

“They got him as they were running to a safe room without a scratch. Everybody comes out without a scratch,” he said.

“They got them as they were fleeing. That’s how detailed the messaging was, and that’s how synchronized the operation was.”

Mauro said that same level of preparation and coordination was on display in the Iran mission, where U.S. forces rescued a missing U.S. weapons systems officer from a downed F-15E following a multi-day search inside enemy territory.

Artificial intelligence is a big factor in the Iran war and Iran realizes it. (iStock)

U.S. intelligence was able to act quickly to retrieve the missing colonel once his location was confirmed.

“[This] was one of those situations where the bell rang. ‘Guys, what [have] you got?’ President turns around, [War Secretary] Hegseth turns around, [and] they all talk to [CIA Director John] Ratcliffe and they say, ‘What [have] you got, director?’ and fortunately it was there.”

Mauro said the operation highlights a broader fact about intelligence work that is apparent to those working within its community: its success comes down to the people running the sources.

“At the end of the day… it comes down to people,” he said.

“If you think that you can sit in a cubicle someplace and get everything you need to be done, that’s not how it’s going to go. You need people in country, in dangerous areas, Americans working on our behalf that you’ll never hear about… they’re running the sources so that, again, when you need it, they say, ‘My source is good.’“