Security News Hacked traffic cameras and US intelligence: How a plot to kill Iran’s supreme leader came together

[oldschool]

Content source

https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/03/middleeast/us-israel-plot-kill-iran-khamenei-latam-intl

Tel Aviv
—
The traffic cameras on the streets of Tehran provided a real-time view of the targets.

Hacked years ago, the cameras allowed Israel to map the city in detail, establish patterns of movement, and build an intricatecomplex picture of what was happening inside an enemy capital, according to an Israeli official.

The cameras were only one part of a much more complex system, some of whose details were first reported by The Financial Times, that allowed Israel to build one what one Israeli source familiar with the matter called an AI-powered “target production machine” capable of processing massive amounts of data.

In went visual intelligence, human intelligence, signals intelligence, intercepted communications, satellite imagery and more. Out came a pinpoint location in the form of a 14-digit grid coordinate. The sheer quantity of information required powerful computers to process, sort, and analyze the data to draw out what Israel wanted: targets.

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The system, created over the past decade, requires a team of people to validate the strike recommendations and fine-tune the processes, the source said, including technologists, data analysts, and engineers.

It has added to what Israel has repeatedly shown to be a longstanding penetration of Iran’s inner circles, which has enabled it to assassinate scores of Iran’s top nuclear scientists and officials over the years, steal the country’s nuclear archive, and kill Hamas’ political leader in Tehran.

For Israel, the system has proven itself before.

At the beginning of the 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June last year, the Israel Defense Forces unleashed the same capabilities in the opening strike, according to a second Israeli source, killing Iran’s highest-ranking military officer, the head of its elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and a close aide to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, among others.

On Saturday morning, as the US and Israel launched a massive joint strike against Iran, the system was put to use once again.

The primary target was Iran’s now deceased supreme leader Ali Khamanei, who Israeli officials believe felt less vulnerable during daylight hours. Defense Minister Israel Katz previously said that Israel did not have the opportunity to target the supreme leader in June, as he likely took shelter in underground bunkers and went silent.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, addresses the media after casting his vote in presidential runoff elections in Tehran in 2024
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, addresses the media after casting his vote in presidential runoff elections in Tehran in 2024 Majid Saeedi/Getty Images
Now the opportunity had arisen to take out not just Khamenei, but also Iran’s top security and military leaders, several of whom were replacements for those Israel had killed in June.

Although the US and Iran were engaged in negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believed the talks were doomed to fail. The Trump administration offered shifting answers about what it wanted out of the talks, but Israel made clear it felt there was never going to be enough common ground to reach a deal, and certainly not one Netanyahu — who had lobbied vociferously against the previous Iran nuclear agreement — would find acceptable.

For Israel’s longest-serving leader, who has spent much of his political career preaching to the world about the dangers of a nuclear Iran, the time to strike was at hand. Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump at the White House on February 11. The private discussion between the two leaders lasted nearly three hours, and they released only a single photo.

As CNN previously reported, the talk was not about the ongoing Iran negotiations. Instead, it was about what happened when those talks failed. Netanyahu presented Trump with fresh intelligence about Iran’s military capabilities. The meeting followed a series of high-level military and intelligence discussions between the US and Israel as the plans for a joint US-Israel attack came into focus.

On Friday afternoon at 3:38 p.m. Eastern Time, Trump gave the order that set the opening strikes in motion. The message said, “Operation Epic Fury is approved. No aborts. Good luck,” according to the top US officer, Gen. Dan Caine.

The Tehran compound of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei is seen before the US-Israeli strikes on February 23, 2026, left, and after on February 28. Airbus
“This was a daylight strike based on a trigger event conducted by the Israeli Defense Forces, enabled by the U.S. Intelligence Community,” Caine told reporters in a briefing on Monday. Although he didn’t provide any more specifics, it’s likely he was referring to Israel’s salvo that killed Khamenei and many of Iran’s top leaders, which reportedly also drew on American intelligence to pinpoint the location of Iran’s supreme leader in his compound.

Within hours, Israel was growing optimistic about the results of the strike, even without knowing for sure that Khamenei was dead.

That confirmation came early Sunday morning, when Iran’s state broadcaster announced: “The Supreme Leader of Iran has Reached Martyrdom.”

 

[oldschool]

This story is an example of privacy and security as co-emergent issues, not separate as is often assumed.

 

[Parkinsond]

This story is an example of privacy and security as co-emergent issues, not separate as is often assumed.

How critical is privacy invasion depends on the calibre of the target.

 

[ForgottenSeer 114717]

Any Country
—
The traffic cameras on the streets of Any City provided a real-time view of the targets.

Hacked years ago, the cameras allowed Any Country to map the city in detail, establish patterns of movement, and build an intricate, complex picture of what was happening inside an enemy capital, according to an official.

 

[Wrecker4923]

on the calibre of the target.

Or the future target; witness how invasion of privacy plays into immigration and border control policies.

Go private now. Mitigate being a future target.

 

[Parkinsond]

Or the future target; witness how invasion of privacy plays into immigration and border control policies.

Go private now. Mitigate being a future target.

I wish I could; most tools claiming preserving my privacy will sell my data for the right price.

 

[lokamoka820]

Off-topic:

Only a fool would mess with the Persians. I think those who did that are ignorant of history. We will see how it ends, as the situation is currently expanding rapidly.

 

[Parkinsond]

Off-topic:

Only a fool would mess with the Persians. I think those who did that are ignorant of history. We will see how it ends, as the situation is currently expanding rapidly.

They are fierce warriors, but modern combat relies on tech.

 

[ForgottenSeer 114717]

Off-topic:

Only a fool would mess with the Persians. I think those who did that are ignorant of history. We will see how it ends, as the situation is currently expanding rapidly.

Wars are not won decisively any longer because the willingness to wage "total war" as it was waged during WWII against the Axis powers is no longer considered politically correct or there is some ideological reason not to do it.

Wage total war against Iran and it will take 50 to 100 years from the ashes.

Put it down and keep it down.

 

[Jonny Quest]

I wish I could; most tools claiming preserving my privacy will sell my data for the right price.

Maybe this will cheer you up

 

[lokamoka820]

I wish I could; most tools claiming preserving my privacy will sell my data for the right price.

This is why you need to be Brave and use Brave.

 

[stonjean633]

This is why you need to be Brave and use Brave.

View attachment 296125

Brave but uses

This is why you need to be Brave and use Brave.

View attachment 296125

He wants something for Privacy. Should be Brave + Duck ( duckduckgo )

But I feel it does not sound right.
Brave and Ducking seems contradictory words.

 

[Halp2001]

Brave but uses
He wants something for Privacy. Should be Brave + Duck ( duckduckgo )

But I feel it does not sound right.
Brave and Ducking seems contradictory words.

Contradiction? Nah. It’s just the ultimate mode for browsing: brave enough to face the web, ducking like a ninja to stay invisible.

 

[Zero Knowledge]

Off-topic:

Only a fool would mess with the Persians. I think those who did that are ignorant of history. We will see how it ends, as the situation is currently expanding rapidly.

Yeah this is not the movie 300 bro that was 2000 years ago and Iran doesn't have B-52 bombers, Tomahawk or Patriot missiles

If only they used Brave browser to destroy those evil Americans invasive privacy tracking and segregated their CCTV network maybe they would be OK ?

Anyway it doesn't matter who is in charge, one asshole replaces the next and we go on in life!

 

[Parkinsond]

This is why you need to be Brave and use Brave.

View attachment 296125

Brave has the "courage" to market "privacy" while using users data "commercially".

They are all the same, the only difference is some are smart enough to be able to use data and some are not.

The same applies to racial groups; there is no evil groups and kind ones, all are evil by nature, only groups smart enough to prevail, and others less smart to play the role of victim.

 

[Parkinsond]

Brave but uses
He wants something for Privacy. Should be Brave + Duck ( duckduckgo )

But I feel it does not sound right.
Brave and Ducking seems contradictory words.

The brave duck

 

[Parkinsond]

Yeah this is not the movie 300 bro that was 2000 years ago and Iran doesn't have B-52 bombers, Tomahawk or Patriot missiles

It is the era of mind, not muscles; those who deeply invest in science will be the winners, regardless of "morality".

 

[Khushal]

Interplay between Iranian Targeting of IP Cameras and Physical Warfare in the Middle East - Check Point Research

Key Findings Introduction As highlighted in the Cyber Security Report 2026, cyber operations have increasingly become an additional tool in interstate conflicts, used both to support military operations and to enable ongoing battle damage assessment (BDA). During the 12-day conflict between...

research.checkpoint.com

 

[Zero Knowledge]

It is the era of mind, not muscles; those who deeply invest in science will be the winners, regardless of "morality".

Yeah OK but but but I think you might underestimate the effect of a Tomahawk missile coming down on you while your in the crapper, they pick you up with a shovel .....

Nothing against the Iranian people though or any people really, everyone deserves to be safe in their home no matter where you live.

 

[ForgottenSeer 114717]

Nothing against the Iranian people though or any people really, everyone deserves to be safe in their home no matter where you live.

Key Statistics on Desire for Change by Iranians​

Category	Percentage	Source / Context
Oppose the Islamic Republic	>70%	GAMAAN (Aug 2025)
Want "Regime Change" as a Precondition	40%	GAMAAN (Aug 2025)
Support "Structural Transition"	24%	GAMAAN (Aug 2025)
Public Dissatisfaction with Conditions	92%	ISPA / IranWire (Nov 2025)
Prefer a Democratic System	89%	GAMAAN (2025)

​

​

However, it is never going to work without:

1. Regime Change
2. Structural Transition

Ergo the only decisive, long-term, stable solution is total war by external entities because the Iranian people do not have the courage to rise up against their Islamic Republic and Regime oppressors and annihilate them.