The Times: The CIA And The Mossad Are Conducting A Secret Operation To Track Down Khamenei
- 28.07.2026, 20:00
He probably hadn't used a phone or a computer for more than four months while hiding in his hideout.
Israel’s “Mossad” and the U.S. CIA are jointly attempting to track down Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mohtaba Khamenei, The “hunt” for the Rahbar is the sole focus of the American and Israeli intelligence agencies. This is reported by The Times citing former intelligence officials.
The publication writes that Mojtaba Khamenei plays a key role in decisions regarding the war even amid his own disappearance, since the IRGC needs to legitimize military actions. At the same time, some in the intelligence community believe he is dead and that the IRGC is merely pretending he is still alive, the newspaper noted. The “Mossad” is trying to determine whether Khamenei is alive and where he is hiding.
According to the newspaper, Khamenei has most likely not picked up a phone or used a computer for about 150 days while hiding in a deep bunker. “Mohtaba may not be using a phone, but if he exists at all, he has other means of communication, such as small scraps of paper,” said former Mossad department head Rami Igra.
According to him, Iranian authorities use a multi-layered network of couriers to transmit messages to the Supreme Leader. But, as Igra noted, they merely pass messages from person to person without knowing their content.
Igra emphasized that the only real way to reach Khamenei is to recruit an agent who is in contact with him. “But this is very difficult because in Iran there is strict vetting of everyone close to him, and probably only two or three members of the IRGC know how to contact him,” added the retired Mossad officer.
“Even if he doesn’t show his face, he could use his voice to address the Iranian people. But that could make him vulnerable. Information can be extracted from a voice file, such as the type of recording device and, possibly, the location of the recording,” said Avner Avraham, a former Mossad lieutenant colonel.
A former high-ranking Pentagon official expressed confidence that following the airstrike in early February that killed Mojtaba Khamenei’s father, Ali Khamenei, Iran’s current Supreme Leader, began paying much more attention to his own security.
At the same time, the newspaper’s American source cast doubt on the capabilities of U.S. intelligence agencies, noting that Iran has remained a closed territory for four decades. He acknowledged that Israeli intelligence operates much more effectively, although its resources are not unlimited. If intelligence agencies do manage to locate the Supreme Leader, Washington and Jerusalem will have to make a difficult decision regarding their next steps, noted an unnamed Pentagon official.
Despite the absence of video addresses or voice messages from Mojtaba Khamenei, posts have appeared on the social media platform X in his name over the past few months. Messages from the Rahbar have also been published by Iranian state agencies. For example, in July, a post appeared on his X page stating that U.S. President Donald Trump’s signature on the memorandum of understanding was “worthless” following the resumption of strikes. In the same post, he called the U.S. the “Great Satan.” Prior to that, in June, a post appeared on Khamenei’s X account in which he revealed that he had approved the signing of the memorandum because of assurances given to him by Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Mojtaba Khamenei became Iran’s Supreme Leader in early March, following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in a U.S.- and Israeli-led strike during the early days of the military operation. The latter had served as the country’s Supreme Leader for 36 years. Khamenei himself was injured in the airstrike on his residence and has not appeared in public since.