Israeli and American authorities spent weeks monitoring senior Iranian leaders’ movements, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, sharing intelligence that enabled surprise daylight strikes, an Israeli military official and a person familiar with the operation said.
The coordinated US-Israeli barrage struck multiple locations so rapidly that three strikes in three places occurred within a single minute, the official said, killing Khamenei and about 40 senior figures, among them the head of the Revolutionary Guard and Iran’s defence minister. The official, speaking anonymously to give fuller detail, said a combination of long-term surveillance, training, and real-time intelligence showing key targets gathered together created a “golden opportunity.”
Daylight attacks added an element of surprise, the official said, and the high tempo of strikes was designed to prevent senior officials from fleeing after the first hits. Israel closely cooperated with US counterparts, and the official said a similar tactic had been used at the start of last June’s conflict, which also killed several senior Iranian figures.
The official also noted Khamenei’s recent social media posts that taunted President Donald Trump.
The details emerged as the conflict entered a second day. Trump, in a video message on Sunday, said he expected operations to continue “until all of our objectives are achieved,” but did not specify those objectives. He said US forces and partners struck hundreds of targets in Iran — including Revolutionary Guard facilities, Iranian air-defence systems and nine warships — “all in a matter of literally minutes.”
CIA had long tracked top Iranian leaders
Officials said the CIA had tracked the movements of Iran’s supreme leader and other senior officials for months before the attacks. That intelligence was shared with Israeli counterparts, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of information about where Iranian leaders were located, according to a person familiar with the operation who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The intelligence-sharing underlined the preparation behind the strikes, which continued into a second day after Khamenei’s death created uncertainty about the Islamic Republic’s future and heightened the risk of broader regional escalation.
Arkansas Republican Sen. Tom Cotton, chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS’ Face the Nation that tracking the movements of the supreme leader and heads of adversarial states “is obviously one of the highest priorities of our intelligence community.” US agencies regularly share intelligence with allies such as Israel; those partnerships and their accuracy are often critical to the success of military operations and public support for them.
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the committee’s senior Democrat, told The Associated Press that the US working relationship with Mossad, Israel’s intelligence service, has historically been “really strong.” Warner said he had serious concerns about the strikes’ justification, Trump’s long-term strategy, and risks to US service members. The Pentagon said three American troops were killed during the Iran operation.
“No tears will be shed over their leadership being eliminated, but always the question is: OK, what next?” Warner said.
Iran signals openness to talks
A senior White House official said Iran’s “new potential leadership” had indicated a willingness to talk with the United States. The official, speaking on background, said Trump has signalled he is “eventually” willing to negotiate but that for now military operations continue. The official did not identify the potential leaders or explain how they conveyed their openness to talks. Separately, Trump told The Atlantic that he planned to speak with Iran’s new leadership, saying, “They want to talk, and I have agreed to talk,” without specifying timing.
The potential diplomatic opening surfaced alongside details of the planning behind the strikes and descriptions of some targets hit. US Central Command said B-2 stealth bombers struck Iran’s ballistic missile facilities using 2,000‑pound bombs, echoing the approach taken in June when B-2s were deployed against three Iranian nuclear sites at Trump’s direction.
Trump cited recent comments in his State of the Union that Iran had been building ballistic missiles capable of reaching the US homeland, a rationale he repeated as the bombardment began. Iran has denied seeking intercontinental ballistic missiles. The US Defense Intelligence Agency, in an unclassified report last year, said Iran could develop a militarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 “should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.”
