Israeli Mossad agents hacked into Tehran's traffic camera system to monitor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, his bodyguards, and other senior Iranian officials for years leading up to his assassination, according to a report. Israel gained control of nearly all the cameras installed in the city, which Iran heavily uses to monitor regime opponents and its own citizens, and followed the movements of key bodyguards.
The footage was reportedly sent back to Tel Aviv and southern Israel, enabling Mossad to obtain detailed information on the bodyguards' home addresses, work routines, and the individuals they were assigned to protect. The operation continued for years till Mossad finally got a clue about Khamenei's whereabouts.
No Room for Error
One specific camera angle proved especially useful, letting agents track where the bodyguards parked their personal cars when arriving at the Supreme Leader's compound on Pasteur Street in central Tehran.
These hacks were part of a years-long intelligence effort that ultimately led to Khamenei's assassination on Saturday, when jets flew directly from Israeli military bases for hours and struck his compound with up to 30 precision munitions.
The Supreme Leader's body was found in the rubble following the daylight bombing, which aimed to destabilize the regime.
Khamenei had ruled a harsh regime for 36 years, responsible for the deaths of thousands of his own citizens, suppressing women, and supporting terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, which sought to destroy Israel.
On Saturday morning, when Israel tracked Khamenei, they also disrupted around a dozen mobile phone towers near Pasteur Street, making phones appear busy and preventing his security from receiving potential warnings.
"We knew Tehran like we know Jerusalem," an Israeli intelligence official told the Financial Times.
"And when you know [a place] as well as you know the street you grew up on, you notice a single thing that's out of place."
The CIA also had a human source on the ground who provided crucial intelligence.
Using this information alongside Israeli AI tools and algorithms that analyzed huge amounts of data on Iran's leadership and movements, they were able to pinpoint Khamenei's location at the meeting where he was struck.
The Final Move
Once Israel and the US confirmed where Khamenei was holding his meeting, they decided to act. During a war, the Ayatollah would normally be moved underground into bomb-resistant bunkers, so acting quickly gave them the advantage of surprise.
Mossad had planned the operation for months but moved immediately once his location was verified.
They relied on traffic cameras to track that the meeting was proceeding as scheduled, hacked phone networks, and drew on the CIA source for real-time updates.
During the strike, senior Iranian national security officials were located in another part of the building.
Two top military figures—Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani and IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour—along with Khamenei's daughter, grandchild, daughter-in-law, and son-in-law, were also killed in the Tehran strikes.
The Supreme Leader's wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, 79, was among the casualties, as was former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
In retaliation, Iran launched furious strikes across neighboring Gulf countries, causing explosions in Qatar, Israel, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, and Saudi Arabia.
The conflict escalated further on Monday, with Israel exchanging fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, US jets being shot down in Kuwait, and Qatar taking down Iranian fighter planes.
On Monday night, Donald Trump warned Iran that the "big one" was coming, saying he was not afraid to deploy troops if necessary.
He estimated the conflict would last "four weeks or so," while claiming that US and Israeli forces were "way ahead of schedule."
