Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly handed over significant authority to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the Supreme Council of Iran’s military, amid mounting hostilities with Israel and an increasingly confrontational posture from the United States.
The development follows unconfirmed reports that Khamenei and his close family members, including his son Mojtaba, have been moved to an underground bunker in northeast Tehran for protection, Iran Insight reported on Tuesday.
The conflict, which erupted following Israeli airstrikes on nuclear facilities in Tehran last Friday, entered its sixth day on Wednesday with both Israel and Iran continuing to exchange missile fire. At least 224 people have been killed in Iran, while the Israeli toll stands at 24.
Iran’s leadership is facing increased pressure after several senior military commanders, including General Ali Shadmani, were killed in precision strikes attributed to Israel, according to sources cited by Reuters. These deaths have reportedly left a strategic void in the IRGC’s upper ranks and isolated Khamenei from many within his once trusted circle.
President Donald Trump, who has been issuing near-daily warnings to Tehran, declared via Truth Social that Washington was aware of the Iranian leader’s exact location, though he added there were no plans to assassinate Khamenei “for now”.
“We know exactly where the so-called ‘Supreme Leader’ is hiding. We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now… Our patience is wearing thin,” Trump wrote.
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He further called for Iran’s “unconditional surrender”, accusing Tehran of destabilising the region.
After assuming power in 1989, Khamenei consolidated control over Iran’s military, judiciary and political appointments, positioning himself as the unchallenged authority at the top of the Islamic Republic’s power structure. However, recent developments suggest his grip may be loosening as internal and external pressures mount.
Khamenei’s apparent withdrawal from direct oversight is being interpreted as a rare move, indicating the depth of the crisis now gripping Tehran.
In an interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu suggested that the killing of Khamenei would not further escalate hostilities but would instead bring the regional conflict to a close.
“It’s not going to escalate the conflict, it’s going to end the conflict,” Netanyahu remarked.
Reports of Khamenei’s isolation coincide with speculation over the increasing prominence of his son Mojtaba, long rumoured to be groomed as a successor. With several of Khamenei’s top advisers eliminated and battlefield momentum shifting, Tehran’s leadership appears to be consolidating military power amid uncertainty over the regime’s future direction.
The White House has yet to formally respond to Trump’s remarks, although senior officials have signalled that while diplomacy remains a possibility, Iran must bear the consequences of its actions.
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