The timing of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran was determined by a remarkable intelligence breakthrough: the CIA learned that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would be at his residential compound in central Tehran on Saturday morning, Feb. 28, along with senior Iranian civilian and military leaders, the New York Times reported.
As reported by "Hvylya", the CIA had been closely tracking Khamenei's movements and discovered that the country's top security officials were planning to convene at the same location, at the same time. The agency passed the intelligence to the Israelis, and leaders of both countries decided to launch the war with a bold "decapitation" strike in daylight.
The attack had been initially discussed as early as Wednesday, Feb. 26 - the day before the final round of nuclear talks in Geneva. The White House pushed it to Thursday night to give the Iranians one last chance to agree to zero enrichment. It was then delayed again until Friday, with the idea of striking Tehran under cover of darkness. But the CIA intelligence about Khamenei's Saturday schedule changed the calculus entirely.
The Iranians, according to four Iranian officials cited by the Times, believed a strike was unlikely to happen in daylight - on a Saturday morning at the start of the Iranian workweek, when children were at school and people headed to work. Members of the Supreme National Security Council felt no urgency to meet in underground bunkers or secret locations that might be unknown to American or Israeli intelligence.
Khamenei was in his office in another part of the compound when senior leaders gathered for their meeting. He had asked to receive a briefing when it concluded. The missiles struck soon after the meeting began. The CIA declined to comment on its role.
Also read: NYT: CIA Tracked Khamenei for Months Before Passing "High Fidelity" Intelligence to Israel