Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has taken unprecedented steps to ensure regime continuity as Israeli airstrikes intensify, according to a New York Times report on Saturday.
Khamenei, reportedly hiding in a fortified location and avoiding electronic communications, has appointed replacements for key military commanders in case they are killed in Israeli attacks.
In a rare move, the Times reported that he has also named three senior clerics as potential successors should he himself be assassinated—an indication of heightened concern for his own safety and the stability of the Islamic Republic.
The measures come as Israeli strikes against regime military and terrorist targets continue into their second week and the United States has bombed key nuclear facilities. The regime in Tehran has fired daily ballistic missile barrages at Israel, targeting civilian population centers, including hitting a hospital and most recently a retirement home, causing 24 deaths, wounding hundreds and displacing thousands.
The Times notes that Khamenei’s actions mark the first time he has directly selected possible successors outside the formal Assembly of Experts process, underscoring the gravity of the threat facing Iran’s leadership.
Both Israel and the U.S. have issued strong statements recently against the Iranian leader.
Khamenei is a “modern Hitler,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on June 19.
“A dictator like Khamenei, who leads Iran and has made the destruction of Israel his banner—cannot be allowed to continue to exist,” said Katz.
The military “has been instructed and knows that—to achieve all goals—this man should no longer continue to exist, without question,” said the defense minister, speaking at the site where an Iranian ballistic missile hit an apartment building in Holon, south of Tel Aviv, wounding 10 people.
President Donald Trump posted on social media on June 17 that the United States knows “exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding.
“He is an easy target, but he is safe there—we are not going to take him out (kill!) at least for now,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told ABC News on June 16 that killing the Islamic Republic’s supreme leader would not escalate but rather end the conflict with Iran.
Pressed on the issue, the prime minister told ABC that Israel was “doing what we need to do” to address the threat posed by Tehran.
“I’m not going to get into the details, but we’ve targeted their top nuclear scientists,” Netanyahu said. “It’s basically Hitler’s nuclear team.”
