The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had monitored Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for months, gradually building a detailed picture of his whereabouts and movement patterns. According to sources familiar with the operation, the agency eventually identified a planned meeting of senior Iranian officials scheduled for the morning of February 28 at a leadership complex in central Tehran, which Khamenei was expected to attend.

The The New York Times, citing informed sources, reported that the killing of Khamenei and several other top Iranian officials was carried out by Israel after receiving closely coordinated intelligence shared by the United States.

Just before the U.S. and Israel launched their major assault on Iran, the CIA had pinpointed what it viewed as the most critical target: Grand Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Intelligence officials tracked him over an extended period and then detected the high-level meeting at a government complex housing the offices of the Iranian president, the Supreme Leader, and the National Security Council. Crucially, the CIA confirmed that Khamenei would be present.

Armed with this new intelligence, Washington and Tel Aviv decided to adjust the timing of their attack. The revised plan created what officials described as a narrow window of opportunity to achieve a decisive early blow by eliminating Iran’s top leadership, including Khamenei.

Sources said the rapid removal of Iran’s Supreme Leader underscored the depth of U.S.–Israeli intelligence coordination and the extensive spy networks both countries had developed inside Iran’s leadership circles, particularly after a 12-day conflict the previous year. The operation also exposed serious shortcomings in Iranian security measures, even as both Israel and the United States signaled clear preparations for war.

According to the sources, the CIA passed on intelligence of “high precision” regarding Khamenei’s location. Initially, U.S. and Israeli planners intended to strike at night to maximize surprise. However, after learning of the Saturday morning meeting on February 28, they altered the plan and opted for a daytime strike.

Israeli intelligence assessed that the meeting would include several senior defense and security figures, among them IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, and other high-ranking security and intelligence officials.

The operation began at around 6 a.m. on February 28 (Israel time), when Israeli fighter jets took off carrying long-range, high-precision munitions. Roughly two hours later—around 9:40 a.m. Tehran time—missiles struck the leadership complex. An Israeli defense official said the strikes were conducted simultaneously at multiple locations across Tehran, including sites where key figures in Iran’s political and security apparatus were gathered, achieving what Israel described as “tactical surprise” despite Iran’s wartime readiness.

The White House and the CIA declined to comment. On March 1, Iran’s state news agency IRNA confirmed the deaths of two senior military leaders whom Israel said it had killed.

Sources described the operation as the result of months of preparation and an effective intelligence network. After last year’s 12-day conflict, U.S. intelligence reportedly collected additional data on how Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) communicated and moved under pressure, improving its ability to track and predict the movements of Iran’s leadership.

The U.S. and Israel also obtained specific intelligence on the residences of Iranian intelligence officials. In follow-up airstrikes after the attack on the leadership complex, these locations were also targeted. Several senior intelligence officials were reportedly killed, although Iran’s top intelligence chief was believed to have survived.

On February 28, U.S. President Donald Trump said Washington believed reports that Ali Khamenei had been killed in the airstrikes were “accurate.” The following day, Iran’s Tasnim News Agency and semi-official Fars News Agency confirmed that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had died. The Iranian government announced a 40-day period of national mourning.

Meanwhile, Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, said the country would establish an interim leadership council as a temporary measure until a successor to the late Supreme Leader is selected.