Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has secretly named potential successors in case he is assassinated, amid escalating conflict with Israel. According to the *New York Times*, Khamenei, who is reportedly hiding in a bunker, provided the Assembly of Experts with a list of three names. His son, Mojtaba, was not among them.
Israel has launched its largest military strike on Iran since the Iraq War, prompting fears of a broader war. “The people of Iran will stand against a forced war,” Khamenei said in a televised address. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has yet to announce whether the U.S. will join the conflict in support of Israel.
Security concerns have grown within Iran, with fears that Israeli operatives may have infiltrated the government. “It is clear that we had a massive security and intelligence breach,” said Mahdi Mohammadi, an advisor to Iran’s parliament speaker.
The Supreme National Security Council warned that anyone cooperating with Israel must surrender or face execution.
Exiled opposition leader Reza Pahlavi stated, “The regime’s command and control structures are collapsing at a rapid pace,” and suggested a post-Khamenei era could mark the end of the Islamic Republic.
