CIA intelligence reportedly helped guide the US and Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the New York Times reported Sunday.
The strikes on Tehran, confirmed by Iranian state media, came after the United States and Israel vowed to pursue regime change in the Islamic Republic.
According to the Times, the CIA had tracked Khamenei for months and learned he would attend a Saturday morning meeting of top Iranian officials at a leadership compound in central Tehran. The intelligence prompted Washington and Tel Aviv to adjust their operation, originally planned for night, to strike in the morning.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe US reportedly shared the intelligence with Israel, which carried out the attack. The operation began at 6:00 am local time in Israel (0400 GMT), with long-range missiles hitting the compound around 9:40 am, the report said.
Senior Iranian national security officials were gathered in one building, while Khamenei was in a nearby structure. In addition to the supreme leader, two top Iranian military figures were killed: General Mohammad Pakpour, chief of the Revolutionary Guards, and Ali Shamkhani, a senior security adviser, Iran’s judiciary confirmed.
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Tehran has since retaliated with strikes across the Gulf, including in Abu Dhabi and near US military bases, raising fears of a wider regional conflict.
US President Donald Trump said the American military’s campaign “will continue as long as necessary.”
Prosper Okoye is a Correspondent and Research Writer at Prime Business Africa, a Nigerian journalist with experience in development reporting, public affairs, and policy-focused storytelling across Africa
