American media revealed the steps taken by American and Israeli intelligence agencies to monitor the movements of Iranian leader Ali Khamenei, which led to the liquidation decision.
CNN reported that Israeli and US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, are secretly monitoring Khamenei and waiting for the right time. Monitoring includes his daily activities, where he lives, who he meets, how he communicates, and where he takes shelter if attacked.
The network said it was also monitoring Iran’s senior political and military leaders, who had rarely met with Khamenei in the past few days until they found an opportunity, citing five people familiar with the matter.
Iranian officials, including Khamenei, were scheduled to meet Saturday morning at separate locations in the Tehran compound that houses the offices of the supreme leader, the Iranian president’s office and the country’s national security agency, five officials reported. According to the network, Israeli officials said that Khamenei was very cautious and lowered his guard during the day because he felt there was less danger, but some Israeli and US officials thought this was something they could not afford to miss.
Three sources told the network that the plan had been prepared for a night attack, but was changed to a day attack, suggesting that Eyal Zamir, the Israeli army chief of staff, had sent a memorandum to Israeli Air Force pilots explaining the seriousness of the situation.
“Operation Roaring Lion begins at dawn Saturday. You have permission to attack the target. I trust you.” The mission was to be carried out at 6 a.m. during the day.
Officials reported that the plane was equipped with high-precision munitions and long-range missiles and simultaneously targeted three locations of various leaders in the complex, hours after President Trump announced Khamenei’s death.
“There was nothing that could be done for him or the other leaders who were killed with him because he was unable to evade our highly sophisticated intelligence and tracking systems and worked closely with Israel,” Trump said in a social media announcement.
An Israeli military official said: “Israel regularly monitors all the leaders of its main adversaries in one way or another. Of course, when carrying out such an operation, additional intelligence information is needed and several elements and elements need to be correlated with each other, which can be very complex.”
American media revealed steps taken by American and Israeli intelligence agencies to monitor the actions leading up to the decision to remove Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
According to the US network CNN, Israeli and US intelligence agencies, including the CIA, are secretly monitoring Khamenei and looking for opportunities. The surveillance included his daily movements, where he lived, who he met with, how he communicated, and where he would take shelter in case of attack.
The network reported that five people familiar with the matter said that Iran’s senior political and military leaders, who rarely meet together with Khamenei until an opportunity arises, were also monitored.
Iranian officials, including Khamenei, were scheduled to meet on Saturday morning in separate locations in the Tehran complex that houses the supreme leader, Iran’s presidential palace and the National Security Agency, five people reported. The network said Israeli sources said Khamenei was extremely cautious and felt there was less danger during the day, when caution eased and some Israeli and US officials saw this as an opportunity they couldn’t afford to miss.
Three sources told the network that the plan was initially prepared for a night attack, but was changed to a day attack, with a memo sent by Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to Israeli Air Force pilots underscoring the seriousness of the situation.
“Operation Thunderlion begins at dawn Saturday. You have permission to attack the target. I trust you,” he wrote, adding that the mission would be carried out at 6 a.m. during the day.
Officials said the aircraft was equipped with precision munitions and long-range missiles and simultaneously targeted three locations in the complex housing various leaders. Hours later, President Trump announced Khamenei’s death.
“There was nothing that could be done for him or the other leaders who were killed with him, as he was unable to evade our sophisticated intelligence and tracking systems and worked closely with Israel,” Trump wrote in a social media announcement.
An Israeli military official said: “Israel regularly monitors all the leaders of its major adversaries in one way or another. Of course, when you carry out an operation like this, you need additional intelligence, you need to connect several elements and elements, and it can be very complex.”
