Amid escalating tensions and threats to his life, Iran&rsquo;s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly named three clerics as potential successors, while taking refuge in a fortified underground bunker. According to sources quoted in American media, the 86-year-old leader has ordered a complete shutdown of electronic communications in his vicinity to avoid detection, as fears grow over a possible Israeli assassination attempt during the ongoing conflict.
Officials familiar with Khamenei&rsquo;s emergency wartime contingency plans revealed that his son, Mojtaba Khamenei&mdash;long seen as a likely successor due to his influence within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps&mdash;is not among the three candidates. The surprise omission comes after the death of another former front-runner, ex-president Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in 2024.
The Supreme Leader is also said to have begun appointing replacements for top Iranian military commanders killed in recent Israeli airstrikes, an indication of his intention to preserve regime continuity despite the deteriorating security environment.
Faced with the possibility of assassination&mdash;an outcome Khamenei is said to regard as martyrdom&mdash;he has taken the rare step of urging the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for selecting Iran&rsquo;s next supreme leader, to expedite the process and choose his successor from the trio he has named. Under normal conditions, the succession process could take months of deliberation. However, with Iran now in a de facto state of war, Khamenei reportedly sees a rapid transition as vital for maintaining internal stability and safeguarding the legacy of the Islamic Republic.
&ldquo;The top priority is the preservation of the state,&rdquo; said Vali Nasr, a leading expert on Iran and professor at Johns Hopkins University, speaking to US media. &ldquo;It is all highly calculated and pragmatic.&rdquo;
Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has intensified rhetoric against the Iranian leadership, accusing Khamenei of war crimes following an Iranian missile strike that hit a hospital near Tel Aviv. &ldquo;The cowardly Iranian dictator hides in a bunker while launching attacks on civilians. These are crimes of the most serious kind, and Khamenei will be held accountable,&rdquo; Gallant said in a post on social media platform X.
Gallant also announced that the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) have been instructed to escalate attacks on strategic and governmental targets within Iran, including those in the capital, Tehran. &ldquo;We will do everything necessary to eliminate the threats to Israel and dismantle the Ayatollah&rsquo;s regime,&rdquo; he stated.
In a separate revelation, former US President Donald Trump, speaking on Tuesday, claimed he knew Khamenei&rsquo;s precise location but had declined an Israeli request to authorise an assassination at the outset of the conflict. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m holding off on killing him&mdash;for now,&rdquo; Trump reportedly said, adding that a final decision on joining Israel&rsquo;s offensive against Iran&rsquo;s nuclear infrastructure, particularly the heavily fortified Fordow facility, would be made within the next two weeks.
European leaders, meanwhile, have called for de-escalation and renewed diplomatic engagement. Iran&rsquo;s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, indicated Tehran&rsquo;s willingness to resume dialogue but insisted that meaningful negotiations could not take place while Israeli attacks continued.
As military strikes intensify and political pressure mounts, Iran&rsquo;s leadership faces one of its most perilous moments since the 1979 revolution&mdash;with the supreme leader already laying the groundwork for life after him.

Khamenei orders communication shutdown to hide his location (File Photo)

Khamenei begins reshuffle of commanders after Israeli strikes to safeguard regime

Khamenei Hides in Bunker, Names 3 Successors

Khamenei begins reshuffle of commanders after Israeli strikes to safeguard regime

June 22, 2025 | 15:21 IST