Israel’s jet-launched ballistic missile that took Khamenei by surprise

 Israel used a little-known ballistic missile that travels into space to kill Iran’s supreme leader in a surprise attack.

Blue Sparrow missiles, which are produced by Israel and have a range of about 1,240 miles, leave Earth’s atmosphere before crashing down, making them ideal for a strike on a highly guarded target such as Ali Khamenei.

Long grey cylinders of debris from the missile have been found in western Iraq along what was presumably its flight path to Iran.

The Blue Sparrow is part of an air-launched missile series, including the Black Sparrow and Silver Sparrow, designed to simulate the Scud missiles, similar to those fired at Israel by Iraq during the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Israel may have used the Blue Sparrow missiles in its assault on Iran in April 2024, given similar debris that was uncovered in the aftermath, but their use has been limited.

The 6.5m missile, which weighs around 1.9 tonnes, was originally created as a target missile to test air defence systems.

However, the Blue Sparrow has been adapted for use as an offensive air-to-surface munition because of its high speeds and quasi-ballistic trajectories.

Their ability to exit and re-enter Earth’s atmosphere increases the difficulty of their interception and allows reduced reaction time from targets.

This makes them suitable for defeating high-value, time-sensitive targets in contested environments without nations putting their manned aircraft at risk.

The US also employed new weapon systems during the attack. The Pentagon released images showing the first combat use of the Precision Strike Missile, which offers an increased range of about 310 miles.

For more than two decades, Israel’s covert intelligence unit, Unit 8200, had been tracking Khamenei’s bodyguards and hacking into traffic cameras around his compound in Tehran.

The assault on Iran had been planned for months, according to an individual briefed on the attack, but the timeline was adjusted when it was revealed that the ayatollah would be attending a meeting in person on Saturday morning.

Khamenei had been spending most of his evenings in his bunker – which was so deep that it reportedly took five minutes to descend to it – because the regime believed Israel was more likely to attack in the evening.

They were wrong.

Israeli F-15 jets and other aircraft took off around 7.30am Iran time on Saturday, arriving in position barely two hours later.

Strikes, including the Blue Sparrow missiles, began at 9.40am. At least 30 precision strikes were launched directly on the ayatollah’s compound.

Simultaneously, Israel had disrupted the phone service around his compound so his aides would not be able to call for help, but it didn’t take long for reports to emerge of aerial attacks in Tehran.

Videos began surfacing on social media of smoke rising from multiple locations across the capital, including the supreme leader’s compound.

By 6.00pm it was clear that US-Israel strikes had inflicted significant damage on the ayatollah’s compound, with at least six buildings damaged.

The following morning at 5.00am Iranian time, state media confirmed that Khamenei had been killed.

Along with the Blue Sparrows, Israel claimed to have dropped 2,000 bombs in the first 30 hours of the war.

For its part, the US launched Tomahawk cruise missiles, including a new black variant, and HIMARS rockets, hitting more than 1,000 targets in the first 24 hours.

The numbers have multiplied since then.

Gen Brad Cooper, who heads up the US Central Command, said on Tuesday that the US had taken out 2,000 targets inside Iran as well as 17 Iranian vessels.

Meanwhile, Israel has also continued to launch waves of strikes against Iran as well as against the Iranian-backed terror group Hezbollah in Lebanon.

But the price of the conflict has been high, and the conflict shows no sign of slowing.

The death toll in Iran has risen to nearly 1,100 as of Tuesday, according to the Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

At least 181 of those killed are children under the age of 10.

Lebanon’s health ministry has also reported at least 50 deaths because of Israeli air strikes.