{"id":320782,"date":"2026-03-04T04:52:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T04:52:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/320782\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T04:52:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T04:52:12","slug":"report-israel-hacked-tehran-traffic-cameras-to-track-khamenei-ahead-of-assassination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/320782\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Israel hacked Tehran traffic cameras to track Khamenei ahead of assassination"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel hacked into Tehran\u2019s extensive traffic camera network in order to track the bodyguards of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials ahead of Saturday\u2019s assassination of the supreme leader, the Financial Times<\/a> reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s cameras are believed to be part of the state\u2019s surveillance apparatus, allowing authorities to identify and pursue protesters and regime opponents. But the Mossad, Israel\u2019s spy agency, was able to co-opt the network for use against the regime, the report said.<\/p>\n

The FT said Israel gained access to the cameras years ago, and found that one particular camera was angled in such a way that it showed where members of Khamenei\u2019s security team parked their cars.<\/p>\n

Through the cameras, Israeli intelligence built files on the guards\u2019 addresses, work schedules, and who they were assigned to protect.<\/p>\n

On the day of the attack, Israel and the US also disrupted cellular service on Tehran\u2019s Pasteur Street, where Khamenei was assassinated, so those trying to reach the bodyguards and deliver possible warnings would receive busy signals, per the report.<\/p>\n

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\u201cWe knew Tehran like we know Jerusalem,\u201d an Israeli intelligence official told the Financial Times. \u201cAnd when you know [a place] as well as you know the street you grew up on, you notice a single thing that\u2019s out of place.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\"\"<\/a>
\n\t\tWorkers install a billboard on an overpass containing a portrait of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, March 2, 2026. (AP Photo\/Vahid Salemi)<\/p>\n

Israel used AI tools and algorithms it had developed to sort through mountains of data it was amassing on Iran\u2019s leadership and their movements, according to an official who spoke with the British daily, which said the bulk of the work was performed by the IDF\u2019s Unit 8200.<\/p>\n

The massive data mining operation allowed the military to track Khamenei to the Saturday meeting where he was struck, and assured Mossad and the CIA that senior officials were on their way to the meeting.<\/p>\n

The CIA also had a human source who provided key intelligence, according to the sources. No further details were provided.<\/p>\n

Khamenei, who had led the Islamic Republic since 1989, was killed in an Israeli airstrike Saturday morning during the opening salvo of the US-Israeli campaign that has hammered Iran in the days since. Iran has said it will convene its Assembly of Experts as soon as it can to name a successor.<\/p>\n

The New York Times reported<\/a> on Monday that the US and Israel were intending to open the war against Iran on Friday night, hitting Tehran under the cover of darkness, but delayed the first strikes until Saturday morning because of intelligence that enabled the elimination of Khamenei.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing was ultimately determined by a remarkable intelligence coup,\u201d said the newspaper, in an extensive report<\/a> that chronicled US President Donald Trump\u2019s decision to go to war. \u201cThe CIA, which had been closely tracking Ayatollah Khamenei\u2019s movements, learned that the supreme leader was planning to be at his residential compound in central Tehran on Saturday morning. Senior Iranian civilian and military leaders were also set to convene at the same location, at the same time. The CIA passed the intelligence to the Israelis, and leaders of both countries decided to kick off the war with a bold \u2018decapitation\u2019 strike in daylight.\u201d<\/p>\n

It said Trump gave \u201cthe official go order\u201d as he flew to Corpus Christi on Friday afternoon to deliver a speech about energy.<\/p>\n


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