"They Knew Even the Exact Time": Why Was Khamenei's Final Day on a Saturday Morning? [US Iran Airstrike]

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 decisive factor in the elimination of Iran's leadership was the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) precisely tracking the movements of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and pinpointing the location and timing of the leadership's gathering.

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 top officials, the CIA obtained intelligence that a meeting attended by Khamenei himself would be held at 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 office. Israel assessed that key military and intelligence leaders-including Mohammad Pakpour, Commander-in-Chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh-would be gathered at this meeting, and thus 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 at around 6 a.m. Israel time with the takeoff of fighter jets, and approximately two hours later, at around 9:40 a.m. Tehran time, a long-range missile precisely struck the complex. 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 through social media. Iran's state-run IRNA news agency also announced the deaths of Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and Commander Pakpour. An Israeli defense official assessed that, despite Iran preparing for war, a "tactical surprise" was successfully achieved.

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 background to the success of this operation was the vast amount of intelligence gathered during the "12-Day War" in June last year. The United States had continuously analyzed data on the communication and movement patterns of Iran's leadership, and President Trump's previous declaration that "we know where Khamenei is hiding" was based on this intelligence network.

It was reported that subsequent airstrikes following the strike on the leadership complex virtually wiped out Iran's senior intelligence agency officials. According to a source cited by the NYT, while the highest-ranking intelligence chief barely managed to escape, the organization itself suffered a severe blow.

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