The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tracked the movements of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for an extended period, pinpointing the time and place of a leadership meeting, and, based on that, the United States and Israel abruptly changed the timing of the strike and carried out a precision attack, according to reports. U.S. President Donald Trump officially confirmed that Khamenei was killed in the bombing.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 1st (local time) that while the CIA had been analyzing for months the travel routes of Iran's top officials, it obtained decisive intelligence that a high-level meeting would be held on Saturday morning the 28th of last month at the Tehran leadership compound. It was also said to have confirmed that Khamenei would attend in person.
Accordingly, the United States and Israel, which had initially planned a nighttime air raid, changed the attack time to Saturday morning. The targets were the core areas of Iran's power where the presidential office, the supreme leader's office, and the National Security Council are located.
Israel assessed that the meeting would bring together the military and intelligence top brass, including Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander-in-Chief Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Supreme National Security Council Secretary-General Ali Shamkhani, and IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Majid Mousavi.
The operation began around 6 a.m. Israel time, when fighter jets armed with long-range precision-guided munitions took off. About 2 hours and 5 minutes later, at around 9:40 a.m. Tehran time, long-range missiles struck the leadership compound. At the time, the national security leadership was in one building within the compound, while Khamenei was in another nearby building, according to reports.
An Israeli defense official said multiple locations in Tehran were struck simultaneously, and one of them was where the top political and security figures had gathered. The official also assessed that although Iran was preparing for war, the tactical surprise succeeded.
President Trump said on Truth Social that Khamenei was killed in the bombing. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency confirmed the deaths of Secretary-General Shamkhani and Commander Pakpour.
The backdrop to this operation is said to be the "12-day war" that broke out in June last year. At the time, the United States was said to have amassed extensive information on the communications and movement methods of Iran's leadership and the Revolutionary Guard. The NYT reported that Trump's remark then that he knew Khamenei's hideout was also based on this intelligence network.
In follow-up strikes after the air raid on the leadership compound, the hideouts of Iran's intelligence agency leadership were also said to have been hit with precision. A source said the top intelligence chief narrowly escaped, but the senior ranks had been effectively decimated.