The assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader and nearly the entire top leadership of the country’s military establishment in the opening minutes of the war marked a dramatic turning point in the conflict, according to a senior IDF officer who described the operation as one of the most complex and coordinated strikes ever carried out by the Israeli military.

Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, the officer said the unprecedented operation combined Israel’s most advanced airpower and intelligence capabilities.

“Assassinating the supreme leader and all of the top echelon of the Iranian military and the IRGC in around half a minute was made possible by a giant and incredibly coordinated airstrike, which took months of planning,” the officer said.

The strike took place at approximately 8:15 a.m. on February 28 and lasted roughly 40 seconds. During that brief window, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several of the country’s most powerful military figures were killed.

Among those killed were Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander Mohammad Pakpour, military chief Abdolrahim Mousavi, Defense Minister Amir Nasirzadeh, and National Defense Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani, along with another long-time senior security aide to Khamenei. Roughly 35 additional senior officials were also reportedly killed in the strike.

The officer described the operation as a massive air assault involving around 200 aircraft, including Israeli F-16, F-15, and F-35 fighter jets, as well as extensive support from the United States military.

“All carrying precision munitions and all flying 1,000 to 1,500 kilometers to strike hundreds of targets in a short time period,” the officer said. “The total surprise we achieved was extremely deadly and effective.”

The opening assault targeted not only Iran’s leadership but also critical elements of the country’s air defense systems and ballistic-missile infrastructure, delivering a devastating blow that left Iranian forces scrambling in the war’s earliest hours.

Within days, Israeli aircraft were flying continuous long-range missions into Iranian airspace. By March 5, nearly every aircraft involved in the campaign had flown nine to ten sorties, each lasting five to eight hours round-trip.

The pace of operations placed enormous demands on pilots and ground crews alike. Some pilots reportedly relied on caffeine pills to maintain focus during marathon missions, while strict rest schedules were imposed despite highly motivated aircrews.

“Every time they close their cockpit and fly off to attack Iranian missile launchers, they know they are directly protecting their friends and family at home,” the officer said.

Within the first days of fighting, Israeli forces say they achieved air supremacy over large parts of Iran, dramatically changing the nature of the campaign. Once Iranian air defenses were largely suppressed, Israeli and American forces were able to shift to less expensive munitions, including Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), for many strikes.

The scale and intensity of the opening assault has led some Israeli military officials to describe the campaign as one of the most devastating short-term air wars in history, particularly given the depth of coordination between Israeli and American forces.

Behind the scenes, the sustained operation has relied on an enormous maintenance effort. At Ramat David Airbase, technicians have worked around the clock to keep aircraft operational, including a growing number of engineers from a relatively new Chareidi training track within the Israeli Air Force.

Some of the groundwork for the operation was laid months earlier. In January 2025, Israel approved an $80 million upgrade to self-protection systems for its F-16 fleet, an investment aimed at ensuring the decades-old aircraft could continue playing a major role in long-range strike missions.

Although the F-35 is now the most advanced aircraft in Israel’s arsenal, the upgraded F-16s proved crucial in the early phases of the war, flying repeated long-distance missions deep into Iranian territory.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)