On Saturday, Israel executed a high-profile strike targeting a significant location in Tehran. This operation, described by a defense analyst as a meticulously planned and costly precision-guided assault, unfolded alongside a broader offensive, which involved the U.S. deploying waves of economical kamikaze drones.
According to Cameron Chell, CEO of the drone company Draganfly, the strategy likely involved deploying advanced and expensive technology to target the compound of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, while the U.S. utilized more economical drones to saturate targets across land, air, and sea.
“The daytime attack on Saturday was a sophisticated operation with remarkable intelligence, aimed at striking leadership targets, potentially costing tens of millions,” Chell remarked.
A map illustrating Western strikes on Iran (Fox News)
He elaborated that the attack probably included high-cost, precision-strike drones or manned aircraft, executing meticulously coordinated strikes for assured success, rather than relying on the less expensive, single-use kamikaze drones.
Chell further noted, “While the U.S. has the option to deploy lower-cost alternatives to hit multiple targets simultaneously, the most expensive and precise assets were likely reserved for targeting leadership last Saturday.”
A senior U.S. official confirmed to Fox News that the compound strike was a “wildly bold daytime attack.”
“It caught the senior leadership off guard on a Saturday morning during Ramadan and on Shabbat in the daytime,” the official added.
“We hit the senior leaders right out of the gate,” the source told Fox national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the public on the 47th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, according to Iranian state television in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 9, 2026. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu/Getty Images)
Iran’s military, government and intelligence sites were targeted, an official briefed on the operation also told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
A handful of top Iranian leaders were killed, including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
President Donald Trump also announced Saturday that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed in the strike.
“If drones were involved in that top target attack, it would have been the very sophisticated MQ-type or Global Hawk-type drones,” Chell said.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said other attacks across the country were being done “to remove threats.”
As previously reported by Fox News Digital, those targets included Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command and control centers, Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites and military airfields.
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine monitors U.S. military operations in Iran after an Israeli strike in Tehran alongside several Cabinet members Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)
Chell described how those secondary targets would have been hit by the U.S. with the cheaper one-way “kamikaze” drones before adding that the strikes “seemed to be an excellent example of mass overwhelm at a new level.”
Chell suggested Iran’s defenses were likely degraded well before the strike began because of the coordination.
“I think likely the defense systems, communication systems, were overwhelmingly compromised,” he added. “And so I think they just overwhelmed them,” he said.
“I’m sure there would have been days, if not even weeks, of work and preparation to take out those defense communication systems.
“They would have compromised those defense communications in some way through electronic warfare or cyberattack.
“The battlefield now is so multidimensional,” Chell emphasized.
“It’s about cyber warfare, misinformation and electronic warfare as well.
“This was seemingly so swift because it was incredibly well-planned and coordinated by the U.S. and Israel on a massive level that’s not been seen before.”
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