Israel allegedly infiltrated Iran’s traffic camera network for years to monitor Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials ahead of his assassination on Saturday.
This is according to a report by the Financial Times citing Israeli intelligence sources.
The newspaper said nearly all traffic cameras in Tehran had been compromised, with footage encrypted and transmitted to servers in Tel Aviv and southern Israel as part of a broader intelligence operation involving cyber intrusion, human assets and advanced data analytics.
What they are saying
According to the publication, one current Israeli intelligence official described how detailed surveillance allowed analysts to detect even minor irregularities in daily routines, saying “we knew Tehran like we know Jerusalem”
The report said one camera provided a clear vantage point of where bodyguards and drivers attached to senior officials parked their vehicles, enabling intelligence officers to build a detailed “pattern of life” profile around Pasteur Street in Tehran, where key government institutions are located and where Khamenei was killed.
- The surveillance effort reportedly drew from multiple intelligence streams, including Israel’s elite military cyber unit Unit 8200, human assets recruited by Mossad, and data processed by Israeli military intelligence into daily operational briefs.
- According to the report, algorithms were applied to detailed dossiers on security personnel, capturing information such as home addresses, work schedules, routes and assigned protectees.
- On the day of the strike, Israel was also said to have disrupted selected mobile phone towers near the compound, preventing members of Khamenei’s protection team from receiving warning calls.
The real-time data stream reportedly contributed to coordination between Israeli intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency in identifying the timing of a Saturday morning meeting at Khamenei’s offices, which officials considered an opportune moment to strike alongside other senior Iranian figures.
Backstory
The late Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on Saturday February 28, 2026 after a series of coordinated strikes by the US and Israel.
- Khamenei, 86, who had ruled the country since 1989, was said to have been assassinated at his office in Tehran.
- The US-Israeli strike followed months of stalled nuclear negotiations between the United States and Iran.
- Iran retaliated with strikes reported in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.
- Meanwhile, the report of hacking comes amid previous allegations of surveillance breaches on both sides of the conflict.
Last year, Bloomberg reported that Iran had accessed private security cameras in Israel to gather real-time intelligence. Following Iranian missile strikes on high-rise buildings in Tel Aviv, a former Israeli cybersecurity official publicly warned residents to switch off home surveillance cameras or change default passwords.
What you should know
Cybersecurity experts have long warned that many surveillance cameras remain vulnerable due to weak passwords, outdated firmware and poor installation practices.
A report by US cybersecurity ratings firm BitSight last year found that thousands of cameras were streaming online without password protection or other safeguards, making them accessible to unauthorised users.
