FRESH details have emerged about the joint intelligence effort that paved the way for the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, with Al Jazeera reporting that the CIA provided crucial location data to Israel, accelerating the timing of the strike.
A handout image released on July 5, 2025, by the Supreme Leader’s office had shown Khamenei attending a Muharram mourning ceremony in Tehran ahead of Ashura. Less than a year later, he would be killed in coordinated air raids that also claimed the lives of senior Iranian defence officials.
Khamenei had dominated Iran’s political landscape for decades. A central figure in the 1979 Islamic Revolution, he served as president before assuming the role of supreme leader in 1989 following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini. Over the years, he presided over Iran’s war with Iraq, entrenched clerical rule and navigated the country through crippling Western sanctions. His leadership, however, was frequently challenged by waves of unrest over disputed elections, economic decline and allegations of human rights abuses.
Most recently, anti-government protests that began with traders demonstrating against soaring inflation evolved into nationwide calls for regime change. Security forces forcefully quelled the unrest, leading to mass casualties.
READ ALSO: Netanyahu claims signs point to Iranian leader, Khamenei’s death
Khamenei was killed early Saturday morning in strikes that also eliminated several top commanders, including figures within the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Iranian Red Crescent confirmed that, as of Monday, at least 787 people had died nationwide. Among the dead were 165 schoolgirls and staff killed when a school in Minab, in southern Iran, was struck.
How US and Israeli intelligence identified the target
The strikes occurred at about 9:40am local time in Tehran. The compound targeted houses the offices and residences of the supreme leader, the Iranian president and the National Security Council.
According to reporting by The New York Times, the CIA obtained intelligence indicating that Khamenei and senior military leaders would convene at the site that morning. The agency reportedly relayed this information to Israel. CBS also cited an anonymous US official as confirming that American intelligence shared real-time location data with Israeli authorities.
In a statement on Truth Social, US President Donald Trump suggested that American intelligence capabilities played a decisive role, writing that Khamenei was unable to evade ‘highly sophisticated tracking systems’ operated in coordination with Israel.
It remains unclear whether the intelligence breakthrough stemmed from intercepted communications, satellite surveillance or human sources on the ground. Analysts believe it was likely a combination of methods. Speaking to CBC, Security Expert, Ms Rosemary Kelanic, said the US probably relied on a blend of human intelligence, signals monitoring and advanced targeting systems capable of striking virtually any location.
Israel is known to have cultivated covert assets inside Iran for years. An unnamed former CIA official told The Guardian that Israeli operatives had long tracked members of Khamenei’s inner circle, gathering granular details about their movements and routines. During last year’s 12-day conflict, several Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated, some in their homes.
The CIA had reportedly intensified surveillance of Khamenei and the IRGC in the months following that conflict, closely observing how senior officials communicated and repositioned during periods of heightened tension.
READ ALSO: Trump crossed ‘red line’ by killing Iran’s supreme leader, Tehran warns
Trump himself had alluded to detailed knowledge of Khamenei’s whereabouts in June last year, posting that the US knew ‘exactly’ where the Iranian leader was hiding, though he said at the time that Washington would refrain from killing him to avoid wider escalation.
Earlier reporting by The Associated Press indicated that Israel had previously proposed assassinating Khamenei, but Trump rejected the plan then, citing fears of regional war.
How the operation unfolded
Although initial plans reportedly favoured a night-time operation, similar to Israel’s earlier ‘Operation Midnight Hammer,’ the discovery of a high-level meeting on Saturday morning prompted a change in timing.
Multiple US outlets reported that Israel carried out the strike using intelligence supplied by Washington, but without direct US military participation in the bombing itself. Republican Congressman Mike Turner told CBS he had confirmed with Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the United States did not directly target Khamenei.
Israeli fighter jets are said to have departed around 6:00am local time, armed with long-range precision-guided munitions. Roughly two hours later, they reached Tehran and struck the compound. Reports suggest that while senior commanders were meeting in one building, Khamenei was in a nearby structure when the bombs hit.
At the same time, US Cyber Command and Space Command reportedly launched non-kinetic operations to disrupt Iranian communications and surveillance systems. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, later said US cyber units degraded Iran’s ability to detect or respond to the attack.
Satellite images released afterward showed smoke rising from heavily damaged buildings within the compound.
By Sunday, Iranian authorities announced a temporary three-member leadership council comprising President Masoud Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei and Guardian Council member Ayatollah Alireza Arafi.
Other senior figures killed and ongoing strikes
Israeli officials told The Guardian that about a dozen members of Khamenei’s family and inner circle, along with roughly 40 additional senior Iranian figures, were killed in the initial wave of attacks. At least 13 top defence officials reportedly died during the Saturday meeting and in related strikes elsewhere.
Joint US-Israeli bombardments have continued across multiple Iranian cities, hitting residential districts as well as infrastructure. The Iranian Red Crescent said the death toll had climbed to 787, with hundreds more wounded. Among the sites struck were hospitals and schools, including the Gandhi hospital.
READ ALSO: Maduro: Fears grow over Trump, Netenyahu’s unusual interest in Nigeria
A separate strike in eastern Tehran targeted a location believed to be linked to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Initial reports claimed he had been killed, but later accounts indicated he survived unharmed, though three members of his IRGC security detail were reportedly killed.
In retaliation, Iran launched strikes against Israel and targeted US military installations in Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Oman.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the campaign, saying it was aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes. Trump has vowed that operations will continue until Washington achieves what he described as ‘peace in the Middle East.’
