Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly selected three senior clerics as potential successors, in what sources say is an emergency succession plan triggered by Israel’s ongoing military campaign and the rising threat to his life.

According to a report published Saturday by The New York Times, the 86-year-old leader is now operating from a heavily fortified bunker and has taken unprecedented steps to safeguard Iran’s political and military continuity. The report, citing senior Iranian officials, reveals that Khamenei handpicked the trio of clerics following a series of Israeli strikes that targeted and eliminated several high-ranking Iranian officers.

Notably absent from the shortlist is Mojtaba Khamenei, the Supreme Leader’s influential son, who has long been rumored to be his heir apparent.

“Khamenei has nominated three clerics as potential successors while hiding in a bunker… Mojtaba is not among them,” The New York Times quoted confidential sources close to Iran’s leadership as saying.

In tandem with the political contingency plan, Khamenei has also appointed backup commanders across Iran’s military hierarchy, according to Iranian and regional intelligence sources.

“Khamenei’s action signals a regime that sees the risk of decapitation as real,” a senior regional intelligence official told The Times. “It is succession planning not in theory — but under fire.”

The Jerusalem Post corroborated the report, noting that Tehran’s top leadership anticipates further Israeli efforts to disrupt the chain of command. Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence has reportedly issued orders for senior officials and military commanders to remain underground and refrain from using electronic communications, including mobile phones. Khamenei himself is said to be communicating exclusively through a trusted aide.

The exact location of Khamenei remains undisclosed, though Iran International, a dissident news outlet, claimed that the supreme leader and his family sought shelter in Lavizan, northeast Tehran, on June 13, the day Israeli forces launched their first major strikes inside Iran. That claim has not been independently confirmed.

Khamenei’s succession is typically determined by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, a clerical body tasked with selecting the Supreme Leader. However, the officials quoted by The Times suggest the current wartime circumstances have accelerated the process, prompting Khamenei to make contingency choices in advance. The move is designed to ensure a smooth transfer of power and avert internal power struggles in the event of his death, which Khamenei reportedly believes would amount to martyrdom.

“Despite the blows it sustained, the Islamic Republic’s chain of command is still functioning,” the report noted, adding that no visible fractures have emerged within Iran’s political elite.