CIA tracked Iranian leaders for months ahead of attacks that began with 3 strikes in 60 seconds

Washington DC. In a coordinated effort between American and Israeli authorities, senior Iranian leaders were tracked for months leading up to the surprise daylight attacks. This allowed the strikes to be carried out in a timely manner.

The eventual barrage of US-Israeli attacks on Iran came so quickly that they were nearly simultaneous — with three strikes in three locations hitting within a single minute — killing Khamenei and some 40 senior figures, including the head of the Revolutionary Guard and the country’s defense minister. The Israeli military official said weeks of training and monitoring the movements of senior figures as well as intelligence in real-time before the attack began allowed them to take out much of Iran’s leadership.

Striking by day also gave an additional element of surprise, said the official. Key officials were unable to flee after the first strike due to the rapid succession of attacks. The Israeli military worked closely with U.S. counterparts and had used a similar tactic at the beginning of last June’s war — which resulted in the killing of several senior Iranian figures.

The official also noted Khamenei having posted defiant tweets taunting President Donald Trump in the days before the attack.

Trump said in a video message Sunday that he expected the conflict to continue until “all of our objectives are achieved.” He did not spell out what those objectives were. The Republican president also said the US military and its partners hit hundreds of targets in Iran, including paramilitary Revolutionary Guard facilities, Iranian air defense systems and nine warships, “all in a matter of literally minutes.”

Before the attacks, the CIA had for months tracked the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including the country’s supreme leader. The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information about the Iranian leaders’ location.

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