The American newspaper The New York Times has published what it describes as detailed revelations surrounding the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.
According to the report, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had been monitoring Ayatollah Khamenei for several months. It claims US intelligence received information that he was scheduled to chair a high-level meeting with senior Iranian officials on Saturday morning.
The intelligence — reportedly including highly precise location data — was allegedly shared with Israel.
The newspaper states that the initial plan by the United States and Israel had been to conduct a night-time strike.
However, after learning of the morning meeting, the timing was allegedly changed to daylight hours, as Iran was said to be anticipating a possible attack at night rather than in the morning.
The meeting, scheduled for 9am under Ayatollah Khamenei’s leadership, was reportedly set to include senior figures such as Mohammad Pakpour, commander-in-chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps; Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh; Admiral Ali Shamkhani, head of the military council; and other top security officials.
The report claims that at 6am on Saturday, several US fighter jets departed from Tel Aviv, equipped with long-range precision-guided weapons.
Approximately two hours and five minutes later — at around 9:40am Tehran time — the compound where Ayatollah Khamenei was present was allegedly struck.
It is further claimed that senior Iranian national security officials were inside one building of the compound at the time, while Ayatollah Khamenei was in a nearby structure. The report alleges that he was killed in the strike, along with several senior Iranian defence officials.
The newspaper also claims that additional strikes targeted other Iranian military commanders and officials, although some reportedly survived.
According to the report, the CIA allegedly relied on the same intelligence source that had previously provided reconnaissance data used in earlier operations against Iranian figures in June.
The source is said to remain embedded within the Iranian system, with Iranian intelligence reportedly unable to identify or apprehend the individual.
There has been no independent confirmation of these claims, and officials in Washington and Tehran have yet to publicly verify the details outlined in the report.
