In the early hours of February 28, as Tehran awoke, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei arrived to a leadership compound on Pasteur Street in the Iranian capital. The 86-year-old supreme leader, who had spent much of the previous weeks hiding deep underground due to fears of Israeli attacks, had emerged to attend a high-level conference.
Within hours, he would be deceased.
The weapon that killed him did not approach slowly, nor did it originate from a nearby conflict. It came from far above. A missile launched from an Israeli fighter aircraft rose quickly across the sky, arcing near the edge of space before plummeting back to Earth.The missile was called the Blue Sparrow.

According to Israeli officials and those briefed on the operation, the strike was part of Operation Epic Fury, a joint Israeli-American assault aimed at eliminating senior Iranian officials and crippling the Islamic Republic's command structure. The strike comprised months of intelligence gathering, years of surveillance, and a last-minute change prompted by new information regarding Khamenei's whereabouts.
The Weapon that Reached Space
The Blue Sparrow missile was instrumental in one of the most significant targeted executions in contemporary Middle Eastern history.
The missile, manufactured in Israel, has a range of approximately 1,240 miles or 1,995 km.Unlike most conventional explosives, it has a quasi-ballistic trajectory. Following launch, the missile swiftly ascends, exiting the Earth's atmosphere before re-entering and dropping toward its target.
The capacity to escape and re-enter the atmosphere complicates interception by air-defense systems. The steep trajectory also shortens the reaction time available to individuals on the ground.
Debris thought to be from the missile has been located in western Iraq. Witnesses reported discovering long, grey, cylindrical fragments spread across barren terrain, according to the Telegraph.
The Blue Sparrow is part of the Israeli missile family, which also includes the Black Sparrow and Silver Sparrow. These missiles were originally intended to resemble Scud-type ballistic missiles, such as those fired at Israel by Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.The system was originally designed as a target missile for testing air defence systems. Over time, the Blue Sparrow evolved into an offensive air-to-surface weapon.
The missile is 6.5 metres long and weighs around 1.9 tonnes. It is often fired from fighter aircraft, such as Israeli F-15 planes, with booster rockets propelling the missile to high altitude before it begins to descend.
Because of their speed and trajectory, such weapons are ideal for striking high-value, time-sensitive targets in heavily protected situations without putting pilots at risk.The target has been tracked for years.
For more than two decades, Israel's signals intelligence agency, agency 8200, tracked the activities of Ayatollah Khamenei's security forces. According to reports, the squad monitored bodyguards' schedules, intercepted messages, and accessed surveillance cameras surrounding his compound.
Traffic cameras around Pasteur Street proved especially effective.
Through cyber operations and persistent monitoring, Israeli intelligence agencies were able to track the arrival patterns of security officers as well as the movements of high Iranian officials visiting the area.
The data was relayed to command centers in Tel Aviv, giving Israeli officials to gain a comprehensive picture of the compound's activity.At least one camera stationed near the property was critical in confirming when security elements arrived and senior officials visited the site.
According to Israeli army officials, the intelligence operation was part of a years-long plot to eliminate Khamenei.
A Moment of Exposure.
Khamenei reportedly spent the most of his evenings in a deep underground bunker in the weeks preceding the attack. According to reports, the bunker was so deep that descending into it took almost five minutes.
Iranian officials feared Israel would most likely launch strikes at night. The notion impacted Khamenei's security protocols, keeping him underground throughout the overnight hours.The meeting arranged for Saturday morning disturbed the norm.
The CIA got intelligence indicating that a meeting of Iran's senior leadership would take place that morning in the compound housing the Iranian presidency, supreme leader, and Iran's National Security Council.
According to the New York Times, the CIA discovered that Khamenei would attend the conference in person. The service apparently has been watching Khamenei's activities for months, gradually gaining a better understanding of his travel patterns and security measures.
When the CIA confirmed the arranged meeting, the information was forwarded to Israel.Decision to Strike
The United States and Israel had meant to carry out the strike at night, under cover of darkness, but intelligence about the Saturday conference caused a change in plans.
Officials from both administrations felt that the event provided an opportunity to dismiss numerous senior people at once. Adjusting the date would improve the likelihood of eliminating Iran's most senior political and military figures in a single operation.
Several senior defence officials were expected to attend, including Mohammad Pakpour, commander in chief of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran's defence minister, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, head of the Military Council, and Seyyed Majid Mousavi, commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force, among others.

Deception Before Attack
In the days preceding the strike, Israeli officials conducted a disinformation effort to reduce Iranian vigilance.
According to an Israeli defence source who spoke with media, the IDF intentionally disseminated images and information indicating that senior officers were leaving headquarters to begin their weekend.
The photographs showed staff workers returning home for Shabbat meal.We distributed images and information indicating that IDF staff and high command were returning home for Shabbat meal," stated an official, as reported by the BBC.
Following the operation, the officials quietly returned to their posts, often in disguise. Inside Israeli command centers, preparations for the strike advanced.The Attack begins.
The operation began just after 6 a.m. in Israel. Israeli fighter jets took off from their bases, carrying long-range precision weapons such Blue Sparrow missiles. The mission required only a few aircraft, but they carried extremely accurate weapons meant for deep strikes.
Around 7:30 a.m. Iran time, Israeli F-15 planes and other aircraft were in position.
The missiles struck two hours and five minutes after the jets took off, around 9:40 a.m. in Tehran.
Approximately 30 missiles were launched in total
Some targeted the building where senior Iranian national security officials were meeting. Others targeted surrounding structures, including the building where Khamenei was located.
The official stated that Israel had achieved "tactical surprise."