Months of surveillance preceded coordinated U.S.-Israeli strike on Khamenei 

By Shamsudeen Abubakar 

Israeli and American intelligence agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), monitored Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for months before carrying out what officials described as a rare, high-value strike.

According to the Times, the CIA built detailed assessments of Khamenei’s movement and received high fidelity intelligence that he would attend a Saturday meeting of senior political and security officials at a leadership compound in central Tehran.

Originally planned for night time, U.S. and Israeli officials reportedly adjusted the timing to capitalize on the precise intelligence. Fighter jets took off at about 6:00 a.m. in Israel (04:00 GMT), and by 9:40 a.m. in Tehran with long-range precision guided munitions striking the compound.

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People familiar with the planning told the newspaper that the aim was to secure an early and decisive blow by eliminating key figures at the top of the Iranian state.

“Senior national security officials were gathered in one building, while Khamenei was in a nearby structure at the time of the attack,” the report stated.

“This morning’s strike was carried out simultaneously at several locations in Tehran, in one of which senior figures of Iran’s political-security officials had gathered,” an Israeli defence official wrote in a message reviewed by the Times. The official said that despite Iranian preparations for war, Israel achieved “tactical surprise”.

Iran’s judiciary confirmed that, in addition to Khamenei, two senior military figures were killed: General Mohammad Pakpour, head of the Revolutionary Guards, and Ali Shamkhani, a top security adviser. Iran’s state news agency IRNA also reported their deaths.

The Times said the operation underscored the depth of intelligence cooperation between Washington and Tel Aviv, particularly since last year’s 12-day war, during which the US gathered further insight into how Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps communicated and moved under pressure.

Follow-on strikes also targeted locations where senior intelligence officials were believed to be staying, according to people briefed on the operation. While Iran’s top intelligence officer reportedly escaped, several senior figures were said to have been killed.

Additional officials reported as affected includes Amir Nasirzadeh, Minister of Defense, Mohammad Shirazi, Chief of the Military Bureau of the Supreme Leader, Saleh Asadi (or Salah Asadi), Senior intelligence official / head of emergency command intelligence, Hossein Jabal Amelian, Head of SPND (nuclear research), Reza Mozaffari-Nia, Former head of SPND (nuclear program), according to Senator Dino Melaye.

Iran has since retaliated with reported strikes across the Gulf, including in Abu Dhabi and near US military bases, raising fears of a wider regional conflict. US President Donald Trump has said the American military’s bombing will continue  “as long as necessary”.