Ali Khamenei on the morning of Saturday, February 28, 2026, when he entered the Beit Rahbari complex, the Supreme Leader’s offices in the heart of Tehran, for a meeting with his top military and political officials, could not have imagined that Israeli pilots were already in the air, waiting for precisely that moment.
How the CIA tracked Khamenei’s movements months in advance
The plan to assassinate Khamenei began at least a year earlier, when the CIA, in cooperation with Mossad, launched one of the most sophisticated surveillance operations in the history of intelligence services. According to a New York Times report citing officials briefed on the operation, the CIA had been tracking Khamenei for months. This wasn’t simple surveillance, but a “puzzle” of information from multiple sources.
Satellites, drones and informants: The surveillance network
The CIA, utilizing satellites, drones, human intelligence sources, and advanced communication monitoring systems, had been recording all of Khamenei’s movements, his habits, the people he met with, and even had information about the National Security Council meetings that Saturday. On the morning of February 28th, the CIA transmitted “high-precision” intelligence about Khamenei’s location to Israel. American and Israeli officials adjusted the operation’s timeline to exploit this exact opportunity. The target wasn’t just Khamenei, but Iran’s entire leadership: IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour, Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, Military Council chief Rear Admiral Ali Shamkhani, Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Force commander Majid Mousavi, and Deputy Intelligence Minister Mohammad Shirazi, who were all in the same location.
At 8 AM Tehran time, Israeli fighter jets took off with long-range precision missiles. Approximately two hours later, the missiles struck the Beit Rahbari complex. Khamenei was in his office while the senior officials were in another building within the same compound. An Israeli defense official stated that the strike was carried out “simultaneously at multiple locations in Tehran” and that Israel achieved “tactical surprise” despite Iranian preparations for war.
President Trump confirmed his death by writing: “He could not escape our Intelligence Services and Highly Advanced Surveillance Systems and, working closely with Israel, there was nothing he or the other leaders killed with him could do.”
Mossad’s role and deep penetration into Iran
Mossad wasn’t merely an observer in this operation. It has been deeply embedded in Iran for years. In June 2025, in cooperation with the IDF’s military intelligence service, it had already assassinated most top Iranian military officials and approximately twelve Iranian nuclear scientists. The extent of Israeli penetration into Iran by the CIA and Mossad didn’t go unnoticed by China, which began efforts in January to block Western intelligence operations.
China supplied Iran with surveillance satellites and radar systems capable of detecting F-35 aircraft, while simultaneously offering assistance to rebuild Iran’s missile arsenal. However, it was too late. The CIA and Mossad had already built an invisible network inside Iran that even Chinese technology couldn’t detect in time.
