US intelligence officials had tracked Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei for months, learning and understanding his movement until he met with top regime officials inside his fortified compound during the deadly strikes Saturday.
The CIA had familiarized itself with the patterns of the 86-year-old tyrant before obtaining new intelligence of the fateful meeting in the center of Tehran, the New York Times reported on Sunday, citing anonymous sources.
Upon learning of the critical gathering, American and Israeli military officials moved the attack, dubbed “Operation Epic Fury,” from the cover of darkness to the surprise daylight strikes that wiped out Khamenei and roughly 40 senior Iranian officials, including the Minister of Defense, Head of Intelligence, and the Supreme Leader’s Advisor for Security Affairs and Secretary of the Defense Council.
Two of the military leaders killed were Rear Adm. Shamkhani and Maj. Gen. Pakpour, the outlet reported, citing Iranian-state media IRNA.
Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff Abdolrahim Mousavi, the country’s highest ranking military official, was among the regime’s leaders who were killed in the US-Israeli airstrikes, state television said Sunday.
The successful attacks, described as a “tactical surprise,” were planned out by Israeli officials for months.
Fighter jets launched out of Israel Saturday morning and arrived in Tehran just before 10 a.m., where they struck the fortified government compound where the officials were gathered.
The senior officials and Khamenei were in two separate buildings of the compound obliterated by the strikes.
President Trump confirmed Khamenei’s death on Saturday, calling him “one of the most evil people in history.
“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social Saturday.
The commander in chief called for the remaining regime officialsto agree to a diplomatic solution as it is “much easier now than it was a day ago, obviously, because they are getting beat up badly,” he told CBS News’ Robert Costa.
He also extended an “immunity” to supporters of the murderous ayatollah, or else they’d suffer grave consequences later.
“We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us,” Trump said in a social media post. “As I said last night, ‘Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!’”
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