Sunday March 1, 2026
www.thenewsdesk.ng
By Idorenyin UMOREN
Private Investigator/Security Evaluator
The United States, US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, intelligence indicating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would attend a meeting of top Iranian officials helped guide strikes in a US and Israeli attack that killed Iran’s supreme leader, the New York Times reported Sunday, March 1.
Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes on the capital Tehran, Iranian state media confirmed Sunday, after the US and Israel vowed to seek regime change in the Islamic Republic.
The US intelligence agency had been tracking Khamenei for months, the Times reported, citing people familiar with the operation, and learned that a meeting of top Iranian officials was set for Saturday, February 28, morning at a leadership compound in the heart of Tehran.
US and Israel originally planned to launch strikes on Iran at night, but officials adjusted the plan based on the CIA intelligence, according to the Times.
The US gave the information to Israel, which planned to carry out the attack on the Iranian leadership, the newspaper reported.
The operation began about 6:00 am in Israel (0400 GMT), and long-range missiles struck the compound about 9:40 am, the Times said.
Senior Iranian national security officials were in one building at the compound, and Khamenei was in a nearby building.
In addition to Khamenei, two top Iranian military leaders were killed in the bombing: the chief of the Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Pakpour, and another top security adviser, Ali Shamkhani, Iran’s judiciary confirmed, AFP, reported.
Iran has since retaliated, with reported strikes across the Gulf, including in the Emirati capital Abu Dhabi and near regional US military bases, as the threat of a larger regional conflict grows.
The Wall Street Journal reported that 30 bombs were dropped on the compound where Khamenei was meeting with senior leadership.
The Israeli Defence Forces, IDF, said Sunday, March 1, that Khamenei was killed in “a precise, large-scale operation carried out by the Israeli Air Force, guided by accurate IDF intelligence,” without mentioning any US role.
Iranian media also reported the deaths of the leader’s daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter in the strikes.
Among others killed, Iranian state TV listed the name of Mousavi along with Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh, the head of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, and senior adviser Ali Shamkhani.
The IDF said that “the majority of the highest-ranking senior military officials of the Iranian security leadership have been eliminated by the IDF.”
As reports trickled out about Khamenei’s death, eyewitnesses in Tehran told The Associated Press, AP, that some residents were rejoicing, cheering from rooftops, blowing whistles and letting out ululations.
Mourners raised a black flag over the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad and the Iranian government declared 40 days of public mourning and a seven-day nationwide public holiday to commemorate Khamenei’s death.
Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Sunday that the killing was a “declaration of war against Muslims.”
“The assassination of the highest political authority of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a prominent leader of Shiism worldwide… is perceived as an open declaration of war against Muslims, and particularly against Shiites, everywhere in the world,” Pezeshkian said in a statement carried by state TV.
The killing of Khamenei after decades in power appeared certain to create a significant leadership vacuum given the absence of a known successor and because the supreme leader had final say on all major policies.
Iran had already seen intense speculation on a successor to Khamenei, given his age. Upon his death, many observers expected greater power for the Revolutionary Guards, which are deeply entrenched in the Iranian economy.
Khamenei reportedly last week arranged a line of succession for his leadership and that of senior military, security and political leaders if they were “martyred.”
Pezeshkian and two other top officials would lead Iran in the transitional period following Khamenei’s death, state television reported on Sunday.
Iran named Ayatollah Alireza Arafi to the interim leadership council that will helm of the country following the killing.
“The Expediency Discernment Council has elected Ayatollah Alireza Arafi as a member of the interim leadership council,” said expediency council spokesman Mohsen Dehnavi in a post on X on Sunday, March 1.
The interim council, which will also include the president and the head of the judiciary, will lead the country until the Assembly of Experts “elects a permanent leader as soon as possible.”
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has said the American military’s bombing will continue “as long as necessary,” AFP said.
