U.S. President Donald Trump receives a battlefield situation report from CIA Director John Ratcliffe at the White House in Washington on the 28th (local time). {White House Photo] 

The United States launched an attack at the time Iranian dictator Ayatollah Khamenei and the top leadership and clergy of the Iranian government convened a secret meeting, enabling their immediate elimination, the British daily 'The Guardian' reported on the 28th (local time), citing sources from the U.S. and Israeli governments. 

According to the newspaper's report, in a special report titled , it was understood that the U.S. joined Israel's attack upon receiving information that it could simultaneously strike Iran's highest-ranking clergy and commanders. 

Israeli and U.S. intelligence sources told the newspaper that President Donald Trump approved the attack after being briefed on intelligence indicating an opportunity to target and decapitate top Iranian leaders and clergy simultaneously. 

While the U.S. was guiding a soft landing through nuclear negotiations, Israeli intelligence had been tracking Khamenei's movements and decided to seize the opportunity to attack when they convened a meeting. 

U.S. intelligence analyzed that even if the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps harbored deep loyalty to Khamenei, their loyalty to his successors would not be as strong after his death, leading to the decision to pursue an operation to eliminate the top leadership of the Iranian regime in one fell swoop, according to multiple sources. 

The Guardian noted that these two sources spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the ongoing operation. 

Another official familiar with the Israeli military's readiness for this operation confided to the newspaper, "There were meetings in several locations that morning, and drones targeted all of them." 

In the initial phase of the attack, a U.S. official stated that it was estimated that Khamenei and 5 to 10 other high-ranking Iranian leaders had died in an attack on a facility in Tehran, Iran, suggesting the possibility of a "one-fell-swoop" strike. 

Soon after, President Trump announced Khamenei's death on his Twitter account, Truth Social, and Iranian local media followed suit, officially confirming the dictator's death and formalizing the success of the U.S. operation. 

Meanwhile, President Trump's order for the attack is believed to have been issued earlier. 

Citing multiple sources, the newspaper explained that the timing of the attack was moved up upon seizing an opportunity to directly target Khamenei. It is inferred that the newspaper suggested that the attack order would have been pre-emptively issued if the intelligence regarding the meeting of top Iranian officials was accurate and the meeting convened as planned. 

The Guardian provided reasoning, noting that President Trump was seen already wearing a white baseball cap with a "USA" logo, the same one he wore in a pre-recorded video from April 28th, when he deplaned Air Force One on his way to his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on the 27th of last month, suggesting the operation's commencement. 

Screenshot of the online edition of 'The Guardian' reporting on the 'one-fell-swoop' operation.

By Huh Gyeom