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Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was moved to an underground bunker in Lavizan in northeastern Tehran hours after Israel began its attacks on Tehran early Friday, two informed sources inside Iran told Iran International.
All members of Khamenei's family including his son Mojtaba are with him, the sources said.
According to the sources, during the previous operations against Israel, True Promise 1 and True Promise 2, the Supreme Leader’s family was also taken to the bunker.
At that time, Mojtaba was by his side, but two of his sons, Masoud and Mostafa, were not with him.
Iran’s first direct attack on Israel, Operation True Promise 1, took place on April 13, 2024, and involved over 300 missiles and drones targeting military installations. The strike was in retaliation for the killing of two Iranian generals in Damascus.
Operation True Promise 2 followed on October 1, 2024, with approximately 200 missiles aimed at Israeli military facilities in response to the assassination of Iran-aligned militant leaders, including former Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah.
Warning to Khamenei
On Sunday, Israel targeted the city of Mashhad, located 2,300 kilometers from the Jewish State, for the first time.
A diplomatic source in the Middle East told Iran International that the Israeli airstrike on Mashhad was a warning to Iran’s Supreme Leader that he is not safe anywhere in the country.
The diplomatic source added that Israel could have eliminated Khamenei on the first night of the operation, but the Israeli government chose to keep him alive to give him a final chance to decide on completely dismantling the Islamic Republic’s uranium enrichment program.
Trump had given Khamenei a two-month deadline to agree to dismantle Iran’s enrichment program. However, the Supreme Leader ignored both his and Israel’s warnings.
With the start of Israel’s airstrikes, that opportunity has been offered once again — this time for him to realistically assess Israel’s military capability and order the dismantling of the enrichment program, the sources said.
Mohammad Kazemi, the head of the IRGC Intelligence Organization, and his deputy, Hassan Mohaqqeq, were trapped under the rubble following the Israeli strike on the Organization's building in Tehran, and their condition is currently unknown, Iran International has learned.
The strike caused extensive damage to the building, and search and rescue operations are still underway.
Iran International has obtained information indicating that Ali Asghar Hejazi, deputy chief of staff to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is in negotiations with Russian officials to secure a potential exit from Iran for himself and his family if the situation deteriorates.
According to the information, a senior Russian official has assured Hejazi that in case of escalation, Moscow would facilitate his evacuation via a secure corridor.
Other senior Iranian officials have reportedly received similar contacts, with some already finalizing their own exit routes.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement Saturday that senior Iranian leaders were “packing their bags.”
Iran has cancelled planned negotiations with the United States that were due to take place in Oman on Sunday, sources told Iran International.
According to people familiar with the matter, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi informed his Omani counterpart — who had been mediating the indirect talks — that Tehran would not proceed with the discussions under current circumstances.
Also on Saturday, Araghchi told European Union foreign policy chief Kaya Kallas that continuing negotiations with the United States is unjustifiable as long as Israeli attacks persist.
The cancellation follows Araghchi’s public criticism of Washington’s silence over Israel’s recent attacks on Iranian territory.
There was no immediate comment from US officials or Omani mediators.
An Israeli official told Iran International that Israel’s strikes in Iran are limited to precision strikes on military and government-linked targets, while warning that any attacks by Tehran on Israeli civilians will prompt a firm response.
“In any instance where Iran targets civilians — as occurred last night — Israel will retaliate to establish a clear boundary,” the official said. However, the source emphasized that even in retaliation, “Israel will not target Iranian civilians.”
