How Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Was Killed: Details

According to Reuters, just 48 hours before strikes by the US and Israel against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a phone conversation with US President Donald Trump. During the conversation, they discussed the reasons for launching a large-scale military operation.

Intelligence data indicated that both Trump and Netanyahu had learned that Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was preparing to hold a meeting with his close associates at his residence in Tehran. Such a meeting created an opportunity to execute this so-called 'decapitation strike' — a targeted attack against the country's highest leadership. Israel has previously employed similar methods, while the US resorts to them rarely.

However, later intelligence revealed that the planned meeting had been moved from Saturday evening to that same morning. Information about this phone call had not been previously disclosed.

Sources indicated that Netanyahu told Trump there might not be a better chance to neutralize Khamenei and also to respond to assassination attempts organized by Iran against Trump himself. According to reports, one such attempt occurred in 2024 when Trump was a presidential candidate.

By the time of the conversation, Trump had already tentatively agreed to the idea of military action against Iran but had not yet decided when and under what circumstances the US would get involved. Meanwhile, US armed forces had been increasing their presence in the region for several weeks, and many in the administration were convinced that military action was just a matter of time.

However, the planned attack date had been postponed for several days due to adverse weather conditions. Reuters did not succeed in determining whether Netanyahu's arguments significantly influenced Trump's position. Nonetheless, this phone call is considered one of the Israeli leader’s last and strongest attempts to sway the US president's decision.

Ultimately, it was this call and the intelligence data showing that the opportunity to target Iran's leader was limited that became crucial factors leading Trump to issue an order on February 27 to commence Operation 'Epic Fury.'