Israel’s assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was not a sudden tactical breakthrough, but the culmination of a years-long intelligence operation that penetrated Tehran’s surveillance infrastructure, mapped the daily routines of its security details and exploited vulnerabilities in the capital’s communications network, according to an exclusive from the Financial Times.
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The operation, which officials describe as a combination of cyber intrusion, human intelligence and advanced data analysis, allowed Israeli and US intelligence agencies to pinpoint when the 86-year-old leader would be present in his offices near Pasteur Street – and who would be with him – before launching the deadly airstrike.
Hacked traffic cameras and the “pattern of life”
Almost all of Tehran’s traffic cameras have been compromised for years, according to two people familiar with the matter cited by the Financial Times. Their images were encrypted and transmitted to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel, providing a constant stream of visual information from the Iranian capital.
One camera proved particularly valuable. It offered a clear view of where bodyguards and drivers assigned to senior officials parked their personal vehicles, revealing the delicate routines of the tightly controlled compound.
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Using complex algorithms, Israeli intelligence compiled detailed dossiers on members of Khamenei’s bodyguard, including their home addresses, work hours, commuting routes and — crucially — which officials were tasked with guarding them. This detailed tracking created what intelligence officers call a “pattern of life,” a predictive map of movements and associations.
Long before the strike, one current Israeli intelligence official told the Financial Times: “We knew Tehran like we know Jerusalem.
“And when you know (the place) like you know the street you grew up on, you notice the one thing that’s out of place.”
Interference with mobile networks near Pasteur Street
The hacked camera network was just one element of a dense intelligence architecture. The Financial Times reports that Israel was also able to disrupt parts of roughly a dozen cell phone towers near Pasteur Street.
Phones nearby appeared to be busy when called, potentially preventing members of Khamenei’s bodyguards from receiving warnings.
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That real-time data stream — one of hundreds, according to the report — contributed to the ability of Israeli intelligence and the CIA to identify the exact timing of the Saturday morning meeting in Khamenei’s offices and represented what officials saw as an unusually opportune moment to strike alongside other senior Iranian figures.
Unit 8200, Mossad and the “assembly line” of targets
The Financial Times attributes the sophistication of the campaign to Israel’s 8200 signals intelligence unit, the Mossad’s human assets and the ability of Israel’s military intelligence directorate to digest vast amounts of information into daily operational reports.
A person familiar with the paper’s methodology said Israel used social network analysis — a mathematical approach used to analyze billions of data points — to identify centers of decision-making gravity and uncover new surveillance targets.
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It all added up to what one source described as “an assembly line with a single product: targets.”
“In Israel’s intelligence culture, targeting intelligence is the most important tactical issue — it’s designed to enable strategy,” said Itai Shapira, a brigadier general in Israel’s military reserves and a 25-year veteran of its intelligence directorate.
“If the decision-making body decides that someone must be killed, the culture in Israel is: ‘We will provide targeted intelligence.’
The 12-day war and the disabling of Iran’s defenses
Israel’s intelligence superiority was also on display during the 12-day war last June, when more than a dozen Iranian nuclear scientists and senior military officials were assassinated within minutes during the opening salvo, according to the Financial Times.
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This campaign was accompanied by cyber attacks, low-range drones, and precision munitions fired from outside Iranian territory that knocked out Iranian air defenses and destroyed the radars of Russian missile launchers.
“We took their eyes first,” said one current intelligence official.
Israeli pilots reportedly used variants of the Sparrow missile, capable of hitting a target as small as a dinner table from more than 1,000 kilometers away – beyond the reach of Iran’s air defense systems.
Khmenei’s Killing: A Political Decision as Much as a Technological Feat
Despite the technological advances, more than half a dozen current and former Israeli intelligence officials interviewed by the Financial Times stressed that killing Khamenei was ultimately a political decision.
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Israel has carried out hundreds of overseas assassinations targeting militant leaders, nuclear scientists and military officials over the decades. However, the strategic gains of such operations remain disputed in Israel and internationally.
The decision to intervene on Saturday, when intelligence services confirmed that Khamenei would meet near Pasteur Street, reflected a convergence of operational readiness and political will.
