Khamenei in an underground bunker: Iran is moving to a regime of strategic isolation – Rezazade

According to the Iranian opposition, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has been moved to a special underground shelter in Tehran amid a sharp increase in the risks of a possible military clash with the United States.

This was reported by two sources close to the government structures of the Islamic Republic.

This is a fortified facility with a system of interconnected tunnels in the capital, which is used as a backup control center in the event of a large-scale military threat. According to Iran International, part of the Supreme Leader’s daily functions has been temporarily taken over by his third son, Massoud Khamenei, who currently serves as the main channel of communication between the Ayatollah and the executive branch of the regime.

Iranian authorities believe that the likelihood of a direct US attack has significantly increased after President Donald Trump’s statement on January 23 regarding the movement of American warships towards Iranian waters. “We have a lot of ships heading to Iran. I hope we don’t have to use them,” Trump said, without specifying the nature of possible actions.

International expert and first vice president of the Iranian opposition in Washington, Ali Reza Rezazade, believes that the physical movement of Khamenei to the bunker is a key indicator of the transformation of the internal perception of the threat within the regime’s leadership itself. “This is not a demonstrative gesture and not an element of the information game. This is a sign that the control system really allows for the scenario of an attack on strategic decision-making centers,” the expert notes.

According to Rezazade, for the first time in a long period, Iran is demonstrating not a deterrence model through aggressive rhetoric, but the logic of defensive survival. “The regime, which has been building the image of a regional hegemon for decades, is moving into the format of a bunker state. This means a loss of strategic confidence and a transition to the psychology of siege,” he emphasizes.

At the same time, Tehran’s officials have publicly stated that any attack by the US would be considered an “all-out war against Iran.” The authorities have been repeating similar rhetoric in recent days. Separately, Iran’s student news agency, citing the parliamentary commission on national security, reported that a potential assassination attempt on Khamenei could be grounds for declaring jihad.

According to Rezazade, these statements primarily serve a domestic political function. “The regime is trying to mobilize society through sacred and existential rhetoric. However, the real state of affairs is not reflected in public speech, but in closed decisions — in particular, the physical isolation of the supreme leader himself,” the expert emphasizes.

He also draws attention to the broader regional context. “The move of Khamenei to an underground shelter means that Iran has de facto entered a phase of strategic defense. In this state, any incident in the Persian Gulf or on the Middle Eastern fronts can become a trigger for uncontrolled escalation,” Rezazade notes.

According to the expert, the current situation indicates the transition of the conflict with the United States from the plane of diplomatic deterrence to the plane of military-psychological readiness. “When the political leadership of the state goes underground, it means that in reality it is no longer about signals, but about scenarios,” Ali Reza Rezadeh summarizes.