Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly nominated three clerics as his potential successors while taking refuge in an underground bunker, amid escalating fears of an Israeli assassination attempt during the ongoing Iran-Israel war, The New York Times reported Saturday.
According to the report, Khamenei, who has led the Islamic Republic since 1989, is also said to have appointed a complete line of replacements throughout Iran’s military hierarchy.
The preparations are aimed at ensuring continuity of command should further high-ranking Iranian officers be killed in Israeli airstrikes. The developments, disclosed by three Iranian officials familiar with internal deliberations, come as Tehran faces a devastating series of blows to its military leadership.
Despite these setbacks, Iran’s chain of command remains functional, with officials and diplomats in Tehran denying any signs of internal dissent.
However, Iranian intelligence has ordered all senior political and military figures to remain underground, fearing Israeli targeting. Furthermore, all electronic communications have reportedly been halted, with Khamenei now relaying commands only through a trusted aide.
While the exact location of Khamenei’s bunker has not been verified, dissident news outlet Iran International claimed he and his family relocated to a shelter in Lavizan, northeast Tehran, following Israel’s strikes on June 13.
The report, however, lacks independent confirmation.
The question of succession—typically a prolonged process handled by Iran’s Assembly of Experts—is now being reshaped by wartime urgency.
According to Iranian officials, the 86-year-old Khamenei seeks to secure a peaceful and structured transition of power after his death, which he reportedly sees as inevitable and even martyrdom-worthy under the current conditions.
This approach aims to shield Iran from internal power struggles during a critical moment of national crisis.
Notably absent from the list of nominated successors is Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, long rumored to be a top contender following the death of President Ebrahim Raisi—Khamenei’s previous heir apparent—in a helicopter crash last year.
Mojtaba’s close ties to the Revolutionary Guard had once positioned him as a likely successor.
The news of Khamenei’s preemptive succession planning came shortly after Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz declared that the supreme leader “cannot continue to exist,” following a missile strike that hit a hospital in Beersheba and several homes in central Israel.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar declined to make direct threats, while U.S. President Donald Trump revealed he had previously vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Khamenei on the first day of the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump stated he knows where Khamenei is hiding but is holding off “for now.”
Trump also hinted that a decision on whether the U.S. will join Israel’s ongoing strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities—particularly the Fordo underground site—will come within two weeks. The Fordo site is believed to be vulnerable only to specialized American “bunker buster” bombs.
As Israel continues its campaign, which includes targeting Iran’s top military leaders, scientists, and missile programs, Iran has retaliated with a massive barrage of over 470 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones.
At least 24 people have died in Israel, with thousands more injured, according to Israeli health authorities.
Among those killed in the initial Israeli strike were senior commanders of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, armed forces, and emergency military command.
On Saturday, the IDF confirmed the killing of the IRGC’s Palestinian Division head, believed to be a key figure in orchestrating the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that ignited the Gaza war.
Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to parliamentary speaker Gen. Mohammad Ghalibaf, admitted in an internal audio recording that “our senior commanders were all assassinated within one hour,” acknowledging a major intelligence failure.