Until his compound was obliterated by Israeli missiles, Ali Khamenei may have been the most tracked man in the world. The intelligence services of America and Israel had spent years analysing his movements and those of his entourage.
The timing of two high-level meetings in Tehran explains why Israel and America began their war when they did.
With American forces massing, Iranian officials had been hoping to persuade their 86-year-old supreme leader to move into an underground bunker.
The Israelis and Americans, in turn, were anxious that Iranian spies would learn of the impending strike.
Israeli generals spent the evening before the attack at home and then used different cars from their usual ones to travel to their headquarters.
America continued negotiating with Iran until 36 hours before the strike, with further talks planned.
The decapitation operation may well have appealed to the American president as a quicker way to act.
Israeli officers describe “an operational opportunity” to remove leaders, who could be replaced by others more open to making concessions.
