Israel struck Khamenei from the stratosphere. Without a preliminary strike on air defense, as is usual in modern wars

Smoke over the ruins of Khamenei's residence. February 28, 2026. Photo: Airbus

Unit 8200 played a key role in the preparations — a secret Israeli intelligence service specializing in telephone interception and cyber operations. Its specialists learned about the planned meetings of Iran's top leadership. Intelligence confirmed: on Saturday morning, February 28, the Supreme Leader would be in his residence with family members.

Around seven thirty in the morning Iranian time, Israeli F-15 fighters accompanied by other aircraft took off towards Tehran.

The operation plan was based on absolute surprise: the Israeli command decided to kill Khamenei with the very first strike, without even attempting to disable the Iranian air defense system beforehand. Tel Aviv feared that any noticeable activity in the airspace would give Khamenei time to descend into a bunker or move to another safe place where he would be beyond the reach of a strike.

The attack itself began around nine forty in the morning. Dozens of Israeli missiles, launched from F-15 fighters, began to hit targets. Among them were Blue Sparrow missiles.

As the publication notes, citing sources informed about the operation, the launches were carried out from a great distance. The uniqueness of the attack was that the Blue Sparrow missiles first ascended into the Earth's stratosphere, and only from there plunged vertically downwards. Such an atypical high trajectory came as a complete surprise to the Iranian air defense and the leadership in Tehran.

Within just five minutes, around 09:45 local time, residents of all districts of Tehran observed huge clouds of smoke rising over the leader's closed complex. High-precision air-to-ground missiles successfully and precisely hit several points within the complex where official meetings were held.

At the moment of the strikes, Khamenei himself was in his above-ground residence. As satellite images show, this particular part of the territory sustained the most significant and visible damage.

Only after the fact of Khamenei's elimination was confirmed, did Israel and the United States of America move to the next phase — the massive destruction of Iran's air defense and other critical military infrastructure. That phase, which usually comes first.

The results of the operation became evident closer to evening. A satellite image taken at 17:47 recorded fires and destruction in the complex, which houses a gigantic mosque, the presidential administration, and the leader's residence.

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