Where Is Ayatollah Khamenei? Iran’s Supreme Leader Reportedly Names 3 Successors Amid Assassination Fears

According to a report by The New York Times, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, has reportedly sought refuge in a secure underground bunker, and identified three senior clerics as possible successors, due to the intensification of conflict in the Middle East and worries about assassination.

The potential for conflict escalation represents a significant change to Iran’s power structure, as it deals with an imminent wartime threat, while inspired by two-front conflict with Israel and US military involvement.

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According to the report, Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, a cleric, who was closely linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and who was widely identified as a possible successor to Khamenei himself, the NYT added, was not among the successors to Khamenei, himself.

Another figure like former conservative president Ebrahim Raisi, was also speculated to be a top candidate, had passed away in the 2024 helicopter crash during us military bombardment against Iranian nuclear facilities, the report noted.

These rumors about Khamenei’s whereabouts were intensified on Saturday, when US missile strikes bombarded Iranian nuclear sites, intermixed with President Donald Trump himself telling Iran to “end the war” right away.

‘Massive security breach’ in Iranian intelligence team

The 86-year-old leader is said to have virtually ceased any electronically-based modes of communication and is subsequently communicating orders solely through a trusted adviser.

According to NYT, three Iranian officials who have knowledge of his emergency plans indicated to NYT that the measure is a part of an overarching wartime protocol designed to evade detection by Israel and the United States, who have both reportedly warned about the potential of an assassination attempt.

“It is clear that we had a massive security and intelligence breach; there is no denying this,” said Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to parliament speaker Gen. Mohammad Ghalibaf, noted in an audio clip acquired by NYT. “Our senior commanders were all assassinated within one hour.”

Sunday marked the ten day of war between Israel and Iran following Israel's unexpected offensive attack, which killed more than 865 Iranians and injured 3,396, an act reported by a human rights group cited by the Associated Press.

The booms of the strikes were felt all the way through Tehran and deeper into Iran targeting nuclear scientists, military bases and energy infrastructure.

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President Donald Trump is now in charge. US military intervened in the Middle East conflict with airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran.

Washington deployed its B-2 bombers, bunker buster and Tomahawk missiles against three Iranian nuclear sites — the well-protected Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.

“Our objective was the destruction of Iran’s nuclear enrichment capacity and a stop to the nuclear threat posed by the world’s No. 1 state sponsor of terror,” Trump said in a nationally televised address, a day after US bombed Iran.

Reports say that Ayatollah Khamenei has advised Iran’s Assembly of Experts — the clerical body that selects the Supreme Leader — to be prepared for the appointment of one of three specified successors, if he should die. Normally there would be transition time of months, but the report noted, Khamenei’s advice was to ensure for “fast, orderly transition.”

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