"First, we took away their eyes": How the Mossad prepared to assassinate Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei

"Israel conducted a covert intelligence operation in Tehran for several years in preparation for the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Spies hacked city surveillance cameras, tracked his security detail's routes, and collected detailed information about his daily routine. How they monitored the ayatollah, what role the US played, and why Iran failed to prevent the assassination.

 

The operation against Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was the culmination of a years-long Israeli intelligence campaign in cooperation with the US.

 

Sources stated that almost all of Tehran's traffic cameras were hacked long before the attack: video feeds were encrypted and transmitted to servers in Israel. One of the cameras allowed them to record the parking of security detail's personal vehicles and monitor daily activities inside the heavily guarded compound. Pasteur.

 

Algorithms supplemented security personnel files with information on addresses, shifts, routes, and escorts—thus creating a "lifestyle" model. This real-time data stream was only part of a broader intelligence-gathering system.

 

Unit 8200, Mossad, and Data Analysis

 

The intelligence base was provided by Unit 8200's electronic intelligence unit, Mossad agents, and military intelligence, which analyzed massive amounts of information daily. According to the newspaper's source, social network analysis was used to identify decision-making centers and potential targets.

 

"In Israeli intelligence culture, gathering intelligence on targets is a crucial tactical matter—it is designed to facilitate the implementation of strategy. If a decision-maker decides someone needs to be eliminated, it's common in Israel to say, 'We'll provide intelligence on the targets,'" said Brigadier General Itai of the Israeli Defense Forces and a 25-year veteran of the Intelligence Directorate. Shapira.

 

Communication blackout and Trump's order

 

On the day of the operation, according to FT sources, about a dozen cell phone towers on Rue Pasteur were disabled. The phones were "busy," and security guards were not given any warnings. The American side, according to sources, also had its own "human source" who confirmed the details of the meeting. The CIA declined to comment.

 

At 3:38 PM ET, US President Donald Trump, aboard Air Force One, gave the order to launch the operation against Iran.

 

According to General Dan Kane, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, US forces carried out cyberattacks that "disrupted, degraded, and deprived Iran of its ability to see, communicate, and respond," after which Israeli fighter jets launched the strike.

 

Political Decision and the Element of Surprise

 

According to a former senior Israeli intelligence official, up to 30 precision-guided munitions were fired at the complex. The daylight strike, according to military officials, ensured tactical advantage. Surprise.

 

"First, we took away their eyes," noted one intelligence official, referring to the disabling of air defense systems.

 

Sources emphasized that Khamenei's assassination was not only a technological but also a political decision. Preparations for the operation had been underway for several months and were adjusted after confirmation that the Supreme Leader and his inner circle would gather at the residence on Saturday morning.

 

"We knew Tehran as well as Jerusalem. And when you know [a place] as well as the street you grew up on, you notice everything that's out of place," said one current Israeli intelligence official.”