A rare high-level gathering in Tehran provided the opening the United States and Israel had been waiting for: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with roughly 40 top security officials, assembled inside his heavily fortified compound. Within hours, Israeli warplanes carried out a sweeping daytime assault that reduced parts of the complex to rubble, killing Khamenei, dozens of senior officials, and three of his family members.

According to a report published Sunday by The New York Times, U.S. intelligence agencies had spent months tracking the 86-year-old ruler’s movements and routines. The CIA closely studied his patterns before receiving fresh intelligence indicating that he would attend the pivotal meeting in central Tehran. Officials described the intelligence as “high fidelity,” confirming that Khamenei himself would be present at the leadership compound.

Once the unusual concentration of Iran’s political and military leadership was confirmed, American and Israeli defense officials accelerated plans for the strike, known as “Operation Epic Fury.” Originally intended to take place under cover of darkness, the attack was shifted to Saturday morning to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the meeting, sources familiar with the operation told the Times. The daylight assault eliminated Khamenei and approximately 40 senior Iranian figures, including the Minister of Defense, the Head of Intelligence, and the Supreme Leader’s Advisor for Security Affairs and Secretary of the Defense Council.

U.S. intelligence capabilities reportedly improved following last year’s 12-day war, during which officials gained deeper insight into how Khamenei operated and communicated under pressure.

Among those killed were Rear Adm. Shamkhani and Maj. Gen. Pakpour, according to Iranian state media outlet IRNA. State television also reported that Abdolrahim Mousavi, Iran’s Armed Forces Chief of Staff and the country’s highest-ranking military officer, was killed in the joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.

Israeli officials had spent months preparing what was later characterized as a “tactical surprise.” Intelligence services from both countries were monitoring multiple senior-level meetings planned for that morning — an unusually large gathering of Iran’s leadership in a single location.

Israeli fighter jets reportedly departed around 6 a.m. local time, with long-range precision munitions striking the compound at approximately 9:40 a.m. in Tehran. Published accounts indicate that about 30 bombs were dropped on the site, leaving it “scorched and shattered,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Khamenei and other top officials were said to have been inside two separate buildings within the compound that were destroyed in the attack.

President Trump publicly confirmed Khamenei’s death, describing him as “one of the most evil people in history.”

“This is not only Justice for the people of Iran, but for all Great Americans, and those people from many Countries throughout the World, that have been killed or mutilated by Khamenei and his gang of bloodthirsty THUGS,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social Saturday.

The commander in chief urged remaining Iranian officials to pursue diplomacy, saying it would be “much easier now than it was a day ago, obviously, because they are getting beat up badly,” he told CBS News’ Robert Costa.

Trump also offered what he called “immunity” to members of the regime’s security apparatus who choose not to continue fighting, warning of severe consequences otherwise.

“We are hearing that many of their IRGC, Military, and other Security and Police Forces, no longer want to fight, and are looking for Immunity from us,” Trump said in a social media post. “As I said last night, ‘Now they can have Immunity, later they only get Death!’”