US and Israel Launch Attack During Khamenei Meeting; CIA Predicts IRGC Could Assume Command
Israel and the United States are reported to have coordinated the timing of an attack on Iran to coincide with a meeting between Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his inner circle on Saturday 28 February 2026. The information was provided by two US sources and a US official with knowledge of the matter.
Israel stated that Khamenei was killed in the strike along with several other senior figures, including Ali Shamkhani, former secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, and Mohammad Pakpour, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Khamenei’s death has been confirmed by Iran.
Two Iranian sources told Reuters that Khamenei met with Shamkhani and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani at a secure location shortly before the attack commenced.
US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social that the Iranian supreme leader died after his movements were tracked by intelligence services. “He could not escape our Advanced Intelligence and Tracking System, and by working closely with Israel, there was nothing he, or the other leaders who died with him, could do,” Trump wrote.
According to two US sources and a US official speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmation of Khamenei’s meeting with his senior advisors triggered the launch of a combined Israeli-US air and naval operation. The US official stated that the attack had to target Khamenei first to maintain the element of surprise, as there was concern he would flee and go into hiding if given the opportunity.
One US source revealed that Khamenei was initially expected to hold the meeting on Saturday evening in Tehran. However, Israeli intelligence detected the meeting was scheduled for Saturday morning, prompting the attack to be advanced.
In a pre-strike assessment, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) concluded that if Khamenei died, Iranian leadership could potentially be taken over by hardline factions within the IRGC. This information was conveyed to two sources who received intelligence briefings.
The precise location of the meeting could not be confirmed. However, Khamenei’s high-security compound in Tehran was among the early targets of the operation. Satellite imagery reviewed by Reuters confirmed the compound had been destroyed.
The Israeli and US military strikes across various regions of Iran have pushed the Middle East into an unexpected new phase of conflict. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes against Israel and several US military bases in the Gulf region.