How did Israel and America track down Ali Khamenei?

The timing of. these two high-level meetings. in Tehran. early on Saturday morning. is what determined. the timing of the entire operation. They began with this decapitation. operation against both. the supreme leader, Khamenei, and. a long list of senior figures. in the Iranian regime. And this is intelligence. which, basically both. intelligence communities, America. and Israel, have been working on. for months, years, trying to penetrate. into the inner circle.

of the supreme leader. and his entourage. But this is not something. that just came together. at the last moment. They’ve known for a long while. about these meetings. and a lot of preparation, months and months of preparation, were going into this. Thank you, Adam. We’ve got to say it's. utter incompetence. that Khamenei was in his office. on a Saturday morning. and ready to be bombed like this. It's so incompetent, you almost want to ask. whether he was putting himself. in harm's way, ready to be a martyr. to this event. You would have assumed, as.

I think we talked about previously, he would have been whisked away. into a bunker. somewhere in the mountains. and kept safe. Instead he was almost. put in the public view and killed. I'm not saying. he wanted to be killed, but it was. rather reckless. to be in that position at that time. How much in Shia. Islam is martyrdom. a thing? It’s important. for Shia muslims. It's very resonant. this is a sect of Islam. that was founded. in martyrdom, back in the seventh century. So it's very resonant.

for followers. I think also for Khamenei. it's not just that, it's also, this is an octogenarian who was. unwell, who has been in ill health. for a number of years. I think he had a couple. of choices here. as he stared down. this American armada. amassing offshore. It was either spend the next months. shuttling from one bunker. to another, hiding underground, not a very good life. Or do what he did. and become a martyr. and be able to go out that way, which is something that he said.

for many, many years. he wanted to do. So he had the opportunity to do it. He did it. I'm not sure it's. going to redeem him, though, in the eyes of many Iranians, because he is a very unloved figure. who has presided over. economic crisis, environmental crisis, isolation, war. His record has been disastrous, and I don't think. the manner of his death. is going to redeem him. in the eyes of the public.