The U.S. military's elimination of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei within one minute was made possible by two decades of human intelligence gathered primarily by Israel's Mossad, according to analysts. The United States used Israeli intelligence to locate Khamenei and disable Iran's communications and transportation systems.
Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Dan Caine said at a Pentagon press conference on May 2 that U.S. forces had repositioned assets and personnel across the Middle East over 30 days before the operation. "This was to enable immediate deployment should President Donald Trump determine military action was necessary while nuclear negotiations were ongoing," he said.
Trump authorized the military operation at 3:38 p.m. Eastern Time on April 27, according to Caine. The president's order stated: "Operation Grand Fury approved. No halt. Good luck." Air defense batteries then prepared to counter Iranian retaliation, and two carrier strike groups began moving to launch positions.
Immediately after the operation began, U.S. Cyber Command and Space Command disrupted and paralyzed Iran's surveillance, communications, and response capabilities. The Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. and Israel timed their airstrikes based on intelligence about meetings of senior Iranian officials. They identified when and where Khamenei and other top officials would gather to maximize strike effectiveness.
Israeli intelligence made this possible. The Financial Times reported that Israel had hacked traffic cameras in Tehran for years to obtain video footage. This allowed them to detect senior Iranian officials traveling to Khamenei's above-ground office on the morning of April 28 and confirm the leadership meeting was proceeding as scheduled.
Israel mathematically analyzed billions of data points collected by Military Intelligence Unit 8200 and Mossad's human assets, the FT reported. Previously, tracking individual targets required filtering false information and visual confirmation. In recent years, algorithm-based analysis has automated this process.
Israel also reportedly jammed 12 mobile communications base stations near Khamenei's office just before the assassination.
"Operation Grand Fury is an unprecedented joint operation involving the U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard alongside Israeli forces," Caine said. "Achieving military objectives will take time, and some tasks will be difficult and demanding."