Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, Orders Top Security Chief to Prepare for Assassination Attempts

Preparing for Succession and War Readiness

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has issued directives to prepare for possible assassination attempts targeting the top leadership, including himself.

According to major foreign media outlets such as the New York Times (NYT) on the 22nd (local time), Khamenei delivered these instructions to key aides and military officials, including Ali Larijani, Secretary-General of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and the country's top security official.

He emphasized to the security chief that the system of the Islamic Republic of Iran must be guaranteed to survive both military attacks and assassinations.

According to foreign reports, Khamenei has established a four-tier line of succession for military command and government functions, positions that he appoints directly. He also ordered every member of the leadership to designate up to four successors. In addition, he reorganized the decision-making structure to prepare for scenarios in which he might be unreachable or assassinated.

Larijani is reportedly at the top of the list of acting-successor candidates to Khamenei, followed by Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Larijani was recently put in charge of suppressing anti-government protests by force and is currently overseeing nuclear negotiations with the United States while engaging with Russia, Qatar, Oman, and other countries.

Khamenei's establishment of emergency measures is seen as a response following Israel's surprise attack in June last year that incapacitated Iran's senior military command structure within a matter of hours. After the ceasefire at that time, Khamenei appointed Larijani as the country's top security official and created a new Defense Council, led by his political adviser Admiral Ali Shamkhani, to manage military affairs during the war.

Meanwhile, foreign media report that while Iran and the United States are still engaged in nuclear negotiations, Iran is operating on the assumption that it cannot avoid a U.S. military strike and that an attack is imminent. According to sources cited by these outlets, Iran is deploying ballistic missile launchers along its western border near Iraq, from where it can strike Israel, and along the southern Gulf coast, where U.S. military bases are within range. In other words, Khamenei is preparing for both succession and war.

Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is holding a press conference in Tehran after casting his vote in the presidential election on June 28 last year (local time). Yonhap News Agency