ISRAEL hacked nearly every traffic camera in Tehran for years – allowing Mossad to stalk the Ayatollah and strike with deadly precision.
Spies watched Ali Khamenei and his inner circle so closely that one official boasted, “We knew Tehran like we know Jerusalem.”
The extraordinary cyber operation meant Israeli intelligence had eyes on the tyrant’s compound on Pasteur Street long before jets roared in to finish the job.
According to a Financial Times report, almost all of the Iranian capital’s traffic cameras were secretly tapped.
Footage was encrypted and beamed back to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel.
Agents tracked the movements of Khamenei’s bodyguards – logging their home addresses, shifts, routes and even where they parked their personal cars.
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One strategically placed camera facing the Supreme Leader’s compound proved gold dust as it showed exactly where guards left their vehicles when reporting for duty.
That built what spies call a “pattern of life” – a forensic picture of who protected the 86-year-old despot, when, and how.
An Israeli intelligence official told the FT: “We knew Tehran like we know Jerusalem.
“And when you know [a place] as well as you know the street you grew up on, you notice a single thing that’s out of place.”
When the moment came on Saturday morning, Israel didn’t just rely on cameras.
Around a dozen mobile phone towers near Pasteur Street were disrupted, making phones appear busy and blocking last-ditch warnings to Khamenei’s security detail.
At least two Israeli intelligence officers independently confirmed the meeting he’d be holding was going ahead on schedule.
Reports say the CIA also had a human source on the ground providing vital intelligence, sealing the fate of the man who spent 36 years bankrolling terror proxies and crushing his own people.
Once the US and Israel knew Khamenei was in place, they moved fast.
Israeli jets, flying for hours from military bases, unleashed up to 30 precision munitions on the compound in broad daylight.
The strike – part of Donald Trump‘s Operation Epic Fury – was designed to decapitate the regime before the Ayatollah could flee to bomb-proof bunkers.
During wartime, Khamenei would normally vanish underground, but acting early delivered total surprise.
After being reportedly killed within the first 30 seconds of the mammoth blitz, Khamenei’s body was found in the rubble.
President Trump said Khamenei “was eliminated along with his inner circle as they gathered for breakfast”.
Among those killed were senior Iranian military chiefs including Rear Adm. Ali Shamkhani and IRGC commander Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, along with members of Khamenei’s family and Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, General Dan Cainem, the chair of the US joint chiefs of staff, said the opening phase was “designed to daze and confuse” Iran.
He added: “Coordinated space and cyber operations effectively disrupted communications and sensor networks across the area of responsibility, leaving the adversary without the ability to see, coordinate, or respond effectively.”
It comes as…
Despite Tehran’s bluster, US officials acknowledged there was no intelligence showing Iran was about to strike America first.
But with the regime arming Hamas and Hezbollah and vowing to wipe Israel off the map, Jerusalem was determined to act.
Israel’s intelligence edge had already been on display during last year’s 12-day war, when a joint US operation crippled Iranian military sites and nuclear facilities.
Iran has since lashed out across the Gulf, with explosions reported in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Saudi Arabia, as well as exchanges of fire with Hezbollah in Lebanon.
On Monday, Trump warned Tehran the “big one” was coming and said he was not afraid to put boots on the ground if needed.
He estimated the conflict would last five weeks or longer so he can ensure the “colossal threat” of Iran’s nuclear capabilities is wiped out for good.
But Trump added that US and Israeli forces were already “way ahead of schedule”.
Iran has since claimed the Strait of Hormuz is closed as the reeling regime warns any ships passing through will be set on fire.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) disputed the claim – emphasising that the strait remains open despite threats by Iran’s remaining leadership.
