Israel’s “missile from space” that eliminated Iran’s supreme leader

As hostilities in and around Iran continue, new details have emerged about the Israeli air strikes that killed the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

At least 30 missiles struck the compound of the presidential palace, including several advanced Blue Sparrow missile systems designed to be extremely difficult for air-defence systems to intercept, as Israeli media reports.

Israel is believed to have used the jet-launched ballistic weapon—often described as a “missile from space” because of the trajectory it follows before hitting its target.

The Blue Sparrow missiles are produced by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems. They have an estimated range of about 2,000 kilometres and weigh roughly 1.9 tonnes. When first introduced in 2013, the system was intended primarily as a target missile used to test air-defence networks. Israel later modified the design so it could function as an air-to-surface strike weapon capable of travelling at extremely high speeds.

One of the missile’s defining features is its flight profile, which takes it briefly into space before descending on its target. After being launched from a fighter aircraft, booster rockets propel the missile upward, after which the re-entry vehicle separates once a target is locked. The warhead then re-enters the atmosphere at high velocity before striking the objective.

The British Telegraph reported that debris believed to be from one of the missiles—described as long, grey cylindrical fragments—was later found in western Iraq, likely along the weapon’s flight path toward Iran.

Defence analysts say variants of the Sparrow missile system have been adapted to allow aircraft to launch ballistic-style weapons from long stand-off distances, enabling strikes on heavily defended targets without exposing the aircraft themselves to air-defence systems.

The Blue Sparrow belongs to a broader missile family that also includes the Black Sparrow missile and Silver Sparrow missile. These systems were originally designed to simulate Soviet Scud missile threats during air-defence testing.

Further reports about the operation that led to the killing of the Iranian political and spiritual leader indicate that Israel had been running a years-long intelligence campaign. As part of that effort, Israeli operatives allegedly hacked into street-camera networks used by Iranian authorities for surveillance.

According to details published by the Financial Times, data gathered on key bodyguards was transmitted to Tel Aviv and to locations in southern Israel. The intelligence agency Mossad then tracked the guards’ movements, addresses, schedules, and the officials they protected in order to identify patterns.

By Nazrin Sadigova