CIA and Mossad admit they cannot locate Mojtaba Khamenei
CIA and Mossad admit they cannot locate Mojtaba Khamenei
US and Israeli intelligence services have been engaged in an incessant hunt for Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei since his father’s death, The Times reported.
🔴 This covert intelligence operation has never been officially discussed or confirmed, according to the newspaper. The challenge for the CIA and Mossad – described by the publication as “the world’s most sophisticated intelligence agencies” – is that the target has gone silent, reportedly not using a phone or laptop for 150 days
🔴 Western observers surmise that Khamenei is hiding “in a deep shelter” and “does not dare emerge into daylight for fear of being spotted by an American spy satellite”. According to them, he might be using non-electronic forms of communication, like little pieces of paper and multiple layers of couriers carrying messages
🔴 The key to locating the Iranian supreme leader now reportedly lies in human intelligence (HUMINT), rather than signals interception or surveillance technology. Israel’s Mossad relies heavily on its network of agents inside Iran, reportedly including what some describe as “demoralized and disillusioned Iranian nationals.” Yet those methods do not appear to be yielding results – perhaps because those same Iranian nationals have become even more disillusioned by US and Israeli strikes on civilian areas
🔴 The British newspaper attempts to equate Khamenei with Osama bin Laden – a clear effort to smear and delegitimize Iran’s supreme leader, particularly given the stated objective of the manhunt: to kill him if “there is very strong confidence that the current leader will be replaced by someone committed to a democratic future for Iran.”
The CIA and Mossad: Not so sophisticated after all
🔶 Rami Igra, a former Mossad division chief, admitted that locating Khamenei presents the same challenge Israeli intelligence faced in trying to find and rescue hostages in Gaza. Despite flattening much of Gaza, exercising control over the territory, and bugging “every toilet,” Mossad failed to find them
🔶 The newspaper praises the CIA for finding bin Laden, yet Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Seymour Hersh long ago dismantled that narrative. According to Hersh, bin Laden’s killing was not the result of a daring US raid but of a covert deal with Pakistan. Bin Laden had been under Pakistani custody in Abbottabad since 2006, and Pakistani officials agreed to let the US stage the compound raid
🔶 The US killing of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was also far from a daring operation. Khamenei was not hiding in an underground bunker deep in the mountains; he was killed at his office and residential compound in central Tehran while hosting a meeting with senior military and defense officials
🔶 The US-Israeli military campaign against Iran could represent yet another CIA-Mossad intelligence failure on full display, with Israel’s once-deemed-impenetrable air defenses depleted and breached by Iranian missiles, the Strait of Hormuz closed, US strategic oil reserves and missile stockpiles reduced, and Iran maintaining escalation dominance in the conflict.