"They Even Knew the Exact Time": Why Khamenei's Final Day Was Saturday Morning [US-Iran War]

Precision Strike on Complex Housing Presidential and Supreme Leader's Offices

Movement Patterns Analyzed for Over a Year Provided Key Clues

The New York Times (NYT) reported on March 1 that the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) played a decisive role in eliminating Iran’s top leadership by precisely tracking the movements of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and pinpointing the time and location where the leadership would gather.

On January 31, 2026, outside Tehran, Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prayed at the tomb of the late Ayatollah Khomeini, the founder of the revolution who returned from exile during the 1979 Islamic Revolution, commemorating the 47th anniversary of his return. Photo by AP Yonhap News Agency

On February 8, 2020, in Tehran, Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stands receiving salutes from personnel of the Air Force and Air Defense units. Photo by AP News Agency

According to the report, while analyzing the movements of Iran's highest-ranking officials, the CIA obtained intelligence that a meeting attended in person by Khamenei would be held in the Tehran leadership complex on the morning of February 28. Based on this, the United States and Israel abruptly changed their originally planned nighttime airstrike to Saturday morning.

The targeted complex was the heart of power, housing the Iranian presidential office and the Supreme Leader’s executive office. Israel determined that this meeting would bring together key military and intelligence leaders, including Mohammad Pakpour, Commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, and subsequently launched the operation.

Smoke is rising from Tehran, which was bombed on the 28th of last month (local time). Photo by AFP Yonhap News.

The operation began around 6 a.m. Israeli time with fighter jets taking off, and about two hours later, at about 9:40 a.m. Tehran time, long-range missiles struck the complex with precision. At the time, Khamenei was reportedly staying in a nearby building within the complex.

US President Donald Trump officially confirmed Khamenei's death through social media. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency also reported the deaths of Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Commander Parkpour. Yonhap News Agency

U.S. President Donald Trump officially confirmed Khamenei's death via social media. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency also reported the deaths of Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Commander Pakpour. An Israeli defense official stated that, despite Iran’s preparations for war, they succeeded in achieving a 'tactical surprise.'

On February 28, 2026, in central Israel, following airstrikes by Israel and the United States on Iran, Iran fired missiles toward Israel, prompting ongoing attempts to intercept them. Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

The success of this operation was underpinned by the vast amount of intelligence accumulated during the '12-Day War' in June of last year. The United States has continuously analyzed data on the communication and movement patterns of Iran’s leadership, and President Trump’s previous statement that he "knows where Khamenei is hiding" was based on this intelligence network.

It has been reported that the subsequent airstrikes following the attack on the leadership complex virtually decimated senior officials within Iran’s intelligence agencies. According to a source cited by the NYT, although the highest-ranking intelligence chief barely escaped, the organization itself suffered a significant blow.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.