David McCloskey, a former CIA analyst and author of the novel The Persian, has expressed surprise at reports that US intelligence played a key role in the assassination of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The killing, carried out by Israel on 28 February, also killed Khamenei's wife and several family members. McCloskey, who now co-hosts the espionage podcast The Rest Is Classified, said he had expected Israel to rely on its own capabilities, including tapping into Tehran's CCTV networks and using data integration software to target senior leaders.
McCloskey praised CIA analysts on the Iran unit for their work penetrating a country with which the US has had no diplomatic relations since the 1979 Islamic revolution. However, he noted that Israel's intelligence capabilities inside Iran are superior. 'When you compare it to what the Israelis collect and what the Israelis are capable of doing inside Iran, it's not at that level,' he said.
Israeli strikes have decapitated much of Iran's military and political leadership, including senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and intelligence chiefs. The Mossad has also eliminated key scientists working on Iran's nuclear program, most notably Mohsen Fakhrizadeh in November 2020, who was shot dead in an ambush using a weapon remotely controlled from Tel Aviv.
McCloskey's novel The Persian depicts a Mossad agent infiltrating a Revolutionary Guards unit undercover as a dentist. The operation goes wrong, leading to torture and a forced confession. McCloskey said the high-risk operation could only have been run by the Mossad, reflecting Israel's intense focus on Iran's regime.
