Khamenei Hiding in Bunker Amid Fears of Possible US Attack: Report
The secure facility, described as a network of reinforced tunnels built to withstand wartime attacks, is designed to ensure continuity of leadership during extreme security threats.
Tehran: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly taken refuge in a fortified underground complex in Tehran as senior military and intelligence officials warn of a heightened risk of a US military strike, according to sources cited by Iran International.
The secure facility, described as a network of reinforced tunnels built to withstand wartime attacks, is designed to ensure continuity of leadership during extreme security threats.
Amid the rising tensions, the report said Masoud Khamenei, the supreme leader’s third son, has assumed operational control of his father’s office, overseeing day-to-day affairs and acting as the main conduit between the supreme leader and Iran’s executive branches.
The move comes as relations between Tehran and Washington deteriorate sharply following warnings by US President Donald Trump that an American naval “armada” is moving toward the Middle East. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said US forces were being positioned closer to the region “just in case” he decided to act against Iran.
A US Navy official, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers are currently operating in the Indian Ocean and are expected to reach the Middle East in the coming days. Additional air defence assets are also being repositioned, reportedly to protect US and Israeli air bases. Britain has announced the deployment of RAF Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Qatar at Doha’s request.
Iranian military leaders have responded with stark warnings. Revolutionary Guard commander General Mohammad Pakpour said Iranian forces were “more ready than ever, finger on the trigger,” to carry out the supreme leader’s orders. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that any US attack would be treated as “an all-out war,” with Iran responding “in the hardest way possible.”
The escalating military standoff coincides with sustained domestic unrest across Iran, fuelled by deepening economic distress and a sharp collapse of the national currency, the rial. Protests that erupted in late December quickly spread nationwide, prompting an extensive security crackdown and what activists describe as the longest and most comprehensive Internet shutdown in the country’s history.
According to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 5,002 people have been killed in the crackdown, including 4,716 protesters, 43 children and 40 civilians not directly involved in demonstrations. Iranian authorities have not confirmed the figures. HRANA also said at least 26,541 people have been arrested.
Addressing an emergency session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said thousands of people, including children, had been killed, urging Iran to end what he called “brutal repression” and to impose an immediate moratorium on the death penalty. He also raised concerns over forced confessions, summary trials and a lack of transparency in Iran’s judicial process.
Amid the intensifying standoff, Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, publicly thanked New Delhi for opposing a resolution at the UN Human Rights Council seeking greater scrutiny of Iran’s human rights record. He described India’s vote as “principled and firm,” particularly at a time of heightened Iran-US tensions.