WASHINGTON, Mar 1: The New York Times and Wall Street Journal reported that the CIA had been monitoring Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for months, ultimately identifying a meeting of senior political and military officials at a government complex in central Tehran on Saturday morning.

U.S. intelligence reportedly shared this information with Israel, allowing Israeli forces to adjust the timing of the operation and strike in broad daylight, resulting in the deaths of Khamenei and dozens of other high-ranking officials.

According to reports, Israeli aircraft dropped around 30 bombs on the complex, leaving it engulfed in flames and reduced to rubble. The operation began at approximately 6:00 a.m. Israeli time, with the strike occurring around 9:40 a.m. Tehran time, just over two hours after takeoff.

The mission had initially been planned for nighttime under the cover of darkness, but precise intelligence on the leaders’ meeting prompted a daytime strike. Amos Yadlin, former head of Israeli military intelligence, described the adjustment as a “tactical surprise.”