How the IDF used AI to kill Iran’s supreme leader

Artificial intelligence played a key role in the IDF’s assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli military intelligence used an artificial intelligence system fed by surveillance from phones and internet-connected cameras to track Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei before he was killed in the opening strike of Operation Roaring Lion, according to new details published Sunday by Israel Hayom.

A special team inside the IDF Military Intelligence Directorate brought together the Research Division, Unit 8200, Unit 9900, and operational planners to build what amounted to a digital manhunt, the report said, citing unnamed Military Intelligence Directorate officials.

According to the account, Israeli intelligence maintained continuous surveillance of phones used by people in Khamenei’s inner circle and accessed connected cameras across Iran to map his routine, with the data then processed by a covert AI system designed to predict his movements and prevent escape.

The AI system was built not merely to locate Khamenei once, but to create multiple simultaneous kill options. A source cited by the paper said the method allowed the IDF to target him “at several locations simultaneously,” no matter which route he chose.

The decisive moment came on February 28 at 8:15 a.m. local time, when intelligence and the Israeli Air Force confirmed Khamenei’s presence in a large compound in Tehran alongside senior regime security officials.

The report said Israel then struck three targets simultaneously, killing Khamenei and 39 other senior Iranian officials within 40 seconds using 40 precision-guided munitions.

The IDF’s AI system fused conventional intelligence, satellite capabilities, communications monitoring, and camera feeds into a single predictive tool, the report said, highlighting the shift in how artificial intelligence is used for military operations, from a marginal support function toward AI as a central operational layer in high-value manhunts.

The killing of Khamenei and other senior regime officials dealt a major blow to the Iranian command structure, Israeli officials said.

A Military Intelligence Directorate source was quoted as saying the regime has faced “major chaos” since Khamenei’s death and has still not stabilized.

Reuters reported separately that Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father, was himself seriously wounded in the February 28 strike and remains out of public view, adding to uncertainty over decision-making in Tehran.