|
Trending Topics
|
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/21/world/middleeast/iran-ayatollah-israel-war.html
Sheltering in a Bunker, Iran's Supreme Leader Prepares for the Worst
(New York Times) Farnaz Fassihi - Wary of assassination, Iran's supreme leader mostly speaks with his commanders through a trusted aide now, suspending electronic communications to make it harder to find him, three Iranian officials said. Ensconced in a bunker, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has picked an array of replacements down his chain of military command in case more of his valued lieutenants are killed. He even named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed. Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, is not among the candidates. In only a few days, the Israeli attacks have been more intense and have caused more damage in Tehran than Iraq's Saddam Hussein did in his entire eight-year war against Iran in the 1980s. "It is clear that we had a massive security and intelligence breach; there is no denying this," said Mahdi Mohammadi, a senior adviser to Iran's speaker of Parliament. "Our senior commanders were all assassinated within one hour."