Sheltering in a bunker, Iran’s Supreme Leader names 3 potential successors
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Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has suspended electronic communications to make it harder to find him.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Farnaz Fassihi
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TEHRAN - 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, said three Iranian officials familiar with his emergency war plans.
Ensconced in a bunker, the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has picked an array of replacements down his chain of military command in case more of his valued lieutenants are killed in strikes by Israel or the US, which dropped bombs on three nuclear sites in Iran on June 21
The attack, which US President Donald Trump announced that night, takes the US military directly into Israel’s war with Iran after days of uncertainty about whether he would intervene in the conflict
It marks the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that the US has sent its air force to strike major facilities inside the country, an act of war.
And in a remarkable move, the Iranian officials added, the Ayatollah has even named three senior clerics as candidates to succeed him should he be killed as well – perhaps the most telling illustration of the precarious moment he and his three-decade rule are facing.
Mr Khamenei has taken extraordinary steps to preserve the Islamic Republic ever since Israel launched a series of surprise attacks on June 13
In only a few days, the Israeli attacks have been more intense and have caused more damage in Tehran than Saddam Hussein did in his entire eight-year war against Iran.
Iran appears to have overcome its initial shock, reorganising enough to launch daily counterstrikes of its own on Israel.
Iran’s top officials are also quietly making preparations for a wide range of outcomes as the war intensifies, according to the Iranian officials, who insisted on anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the Ayatollah’s plans.
Peering inside Iran’s closely guarded leadership can be difficult, but its chain of command still seems to be functioning despite being hit hard. There are no obvious signs of dissent in the political ranks, according to the officials and diplomats in Iran.
Mr Khamenei, 86, is aware that either Israel or the US could try to assassinate him, an end he would view as martyrdom, the officials said.
Given the possibility, the Ayatollah has made the unusual decision to instruct his nation’s Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for appointing the supreme leader, to choose his successor swiftly from the three names he provided. NYTIMES
