Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly moved into a fortified underground shelter in Tehran amid assessments by senior military and security officials of a heightened risk of a potential US attack, according to two sources cited by Iran International.
The report described the location as a heavily fortified complex with interconnected tunnels designed for wartime contingencies.
It added that Masoud Khamenei, the supreme leader’s third son, has taken over day-to-day management of his father’s office and is acting as the primary channel of communication with Iran’s executive branches.
Trump’s ‘big force’ warning
The reported move comes as tensions escalate sharply between Tehran and Washington. Earlier, US President Donald Trump had said an American naval “armada” was heading toward the Middle East, speaking aboard Air Force One that the deployment was being made “just in case” he decided to act against Iran.
US Navy officials have confirmed that the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers are currently deployed in the Indian Ocean and are expected to reach the Middle East in the coming days.
Additional air defence systems are also being repositioned, likely to protect US and Israeli airbases. The UK has announced it will send RAF Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Qatar at Doha’s request.
Iran issues counter warning
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard commander, General Mohammad Pakpour, responded by saying 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 attack would be treated as “an all-out war,” with Iran responding “in the hardest way possible.”
Unrest at home
The military standoff follows weeks of unrest inside Iran sparked by economic hardship and a sharp fall in the national currency, the Rial. Protests that began in late December spread across the country, leading to a sweeping security crackdown and what activists described as the longest and most extensive internet shutdown in Iran’s history.
The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said at least 5,002 people had been killed in the crackdown, including 4,716 demonstrators, 43 children and 40 civilians not directly involved in protests. Iranian authorities have not confirmed the figures. HRANA also reported at least 26,541 arrests.
Addressing an emergency session of the UN human rights council in Geneva, UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Turk said thousands, including children, had been killed and urged Iran to end what he called “brutal repression,” calling for a moratorium on the death penalty and raising concerns over forced confessions and summary trials.
Iran thanks India
Amid the tensions, Iran’s ambassador to India, Mohammad Fathali, publicly thanked New Delhi for opposing a UN human rights council resolution seeking increased 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.
(With inputs from agencies)
