Washington, D.C.: According to a report by The New York Times, the CIA successfully tracked a high-level meeting of Iran’s leadership, after which Israel executed a targeted strike.
The report states that shortly before the attacks on Iran, the CIA identified the precise location of the most critical target, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Sources familiar with the operation revealed that the CIA had been monitoring Khamenei’s movements and residences for months, gradually obtaining increasingly reliable intelligence.
The breakthrough came when the agency received information that a key gathering of senior Iranian officials would take place on Saturday morning in a central Tehran compound, with the Supreme Leader also expected to attend. This intelligence prompted a revision of the planned timing for the strike to exploit the opportunity.
According to the New York Times, this actionable intelligence allowed the United States and Israel to secure a decisive early success, ultimately leading to the deaths of top Iranian officials, including Khamenei. The unusually rapid outcome of the operation reflects the close coordination and intelligence sharing between Washington and Tel Aviv prior to the strike.
The report also notes that Iran’s leadership failed to implement adequate security measures despite clear signs of a potential attack, leaving critical targets vulnerable.
Israeli forces reportedly executed the operation based on a combination of U.S. and Israeli intelligence, which had been collected and analyzed over several months. While the original plan called for a nighttime strike, the new intelligence regarding the Tehran compound meeting prompted the attack to be carried out on Saturday morning, maximizing its impact.
This incident highlights the level of planning, coordination, and intelligence integration between the United States and Israel, as well as the vulnerabilities in Iran’s security protocols during high-level gatherings.
