A senior Israeli intelligence official has revealed new details about the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, stating that Iran’s biggest mistake was thinking the Israeli Defence Forces would not attack the senior figures during the day.
The officials told the Hebrew website Walla that there were two targeted assassination operations to assassinate senior Iranian intelligence officials. Khamenei’s murder was in the second operation, which he termed as “one of the most complex ever carried out”, given the high level of compartmentalisation that was practised around him and the various security circles.
He said, even after 15 days of war, it is still unclear what the status of the replacement Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is. The senior intelligence official claims that the Iranian regime has suffered very painful blows and is now trying to convey stability. However, the distress is expressed in calls for his emissaries to help the regime survive the attacks by the US military and the IDF. The calls have so far been answered by Hezbollah and the Iraqi Shiite militias, while the Houthis are still sitting on the fence at this stage, he added.
The senior official pointed to a clear figure since the start of the operation: more than 70% of the Iranians' launch capabilities have been destroyed. So far, 2,200 regime components have been attacked, including buildings, headquarters, safe houses, temporary and permanent internal security bases - including sites that the Iranians thought were secret, above and below ground.
Khamenei’s plane destroyed
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) announced on Monday that it destroyed the plane belonging to Ali Khamenei, the slain Supreme Leader of Iran. The aircraft was parked at Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport.
According to the IDF, the plane was used by Khamenei and other senior officials to promote military procurement and manage relations with the Axis countries.
The IDF added that "the destruction of the plane harms the coordination ability of the leadership of the Iranian terrorist regime with the Axis countries, in building military power, and in the ability to reconstruct the terrorist regime. This will deprive the Iranian regime of another strategic asset." "The IDF will continue to act to harm any means used by the military forces of the Iranian terrorist regime throughout Iran,” the statement added.