Iran strike killed Khamenei in precision attack likely costing $10M, expert claims

Israel hit its key target in Tehran on Saturday with what a defense expert described as a multimillion-dollar precision-guided strike, as well as a broader strike involving low-cost US kamikaze drones.

Cameron Chell, CEO of drone manufacturer Draganfly, told Fox News Digital that the campaign will likely match advanced and costly assets against Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s compound, while U.S. forces will use cheaper drones to “smother” on land, in the air and at sea.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) also confirmed that unmanned aerial vehicles were deployed for the first time in history.

“For the first time in history, CENTCOM’s Task Force Scorpion Strike uses one-way attack drones in combat during Operation Epic Fury,” he said, adding: “Low-cost drones modeled on Iran’s Shahed drones now provide American-made retaliation.”

“On Saturday, we witnessed a crushing daylight attack targeting the leadership, with incredible intelligence, and an attack that likely cost tens of millions,” Chell said.

“This will likely involve expensive, precision-strike drones or manned aircraft in highly coordinated attacks to ensure success, not necessarily a lower-cost, one-way version of suicide drones,” he explained.

“The US has a lower-cost alternative to hit everything at once, but then very expensive, high-precision assets would probably go after the lead directly on Saturday,” Chell added.

A senior US official confirmed to Fox News that the compound attack was a “wildly bold daytime attack.”

“It caught the senior leadership off guard on a Saturday morning during Ramadan and during the day on Shabbat,” the official added.

“We shot senior leaders right out of the gate,” the source told Fox national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin.

An official briefed on the operation said that Iran’s military, government and intelligence centers were targeted. Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A handful of senior Iranian leaders were killed, including the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

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Iran’s religious leader Ali Khamenei addresses the public on the 47th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, February 9, 2026, Iranian state television reported in Tehran, Iran. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump also announced Saturday that religious leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the attack.

“If drones were involved in this top target attack, they would be very advanced MQ type or Global Hawk type drones,” Chell said.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said other attacks across the country were carried out “to eliminate threats.”

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, these targets included command and control centers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Iranian air defense capabilities, missile and drone launch sites, and military airfields.

Chell described how these secondary targets could be hit by the United States with cheaper one-way “kamikaze” drones, adding that the attacks “seem to be a perfect example of mass depression at a new level.”

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U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine monitors U.S. military operations in Iran following the Israeli attack in Tehran with several Cabinet members on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (@WhiteHouse/X)

Chell suggested that due to coordination, Iran’s defenses were likely weakened long before the attack began.

“I think the defense systems, the communication systems have been greatly compromised,” he added. “And I think they overwhelmed them,” he said.

“I am confident that it would take days, if not weeks, of study and preparation to take down defense communications systems.

“They would somehow compromise those defensive communications through electronic warfare or cyber attack.

“The battlefield is now multi-dimensional,” Chell emphasized.

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“This is also about cyber warfare, disinformation and electronic warfare.

“This was apparently very fast because it was incredibly well planned and coordinated to a level never before seen by the United States and Israel.”

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