The US Navy’s Abraham Lincoln provider strike group has arrived within the US Central Command (Centcom) space — near Iran, which has witnessed a brutal repression of the large protests in opposition to the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei regime. With US stress mounting on the Shia Islamic regime, speculations are rife in regards to the successor to Iran’s supreme chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, amid experiences of him hiding in a bunker in Tehran.
“Bunker resident Khamenei has reportedly designated a successor ought to bombs start falling overhead. We advise the subsequent ‘chief’ deal with the place as strictly momentary,” stated a US-based activism web site Israel Struggle Room. The web site, which identifies as a non-profit organisation and has a big following throughout social media platforms, stated on X.
There’s chatter on-line from Iran observers and former Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) troopers, who’ve been intently following the developments within the nation. “There are experiences that Khamenei has appointed replacements for himself in case he’s harmed/eradicated,” stated Eli Afriat, a former IDF soldier.
In the meantime, Open supply intelligence monitoring web page, OSINTdefender, stated on X on Tuesday, “President Donald J Trump has obtained a number of intelligence experiences indicating that the Iranian authorities’s place is weakening, presumably being at its weakest level for the reason that Shah was overthrown in the course of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, in keeping with a number of individuals aware of the knowledge who spoke to the New York Occasions.”
The New York Occasions had on Saturday reported that Iran’s bloody response to the protests was additionally an indication of the Khamenei regime’s rising weak point.
On the similar time, there are claims that Khamenei is hiding in bunkers even because the US Navy is growing its presence within the Center East area — a improvement that resembles the occasions earlier than the US deposed Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro. “Khamenei is hiding in his underground shelter in Tehran,” reported Iran Worldwide, quoting sources.
The chatter on-line suggests the Iranian regime may be underneath siege, with the 86-year-old Supreme Chief hiding in a fortified advanced in Tehran, linked by tunnels constructed to resist assaults. Nonetheless, it should be famous that such developments befell even throughout Israel’s Operation Rising Lion in June final yr.
Gulf international locations shortly mobilised to induce US President Donald Trump to not assault Iran a fortnight in the past, warning that it might plunge the whole area right into a full-fledged struggle. Consultants have stated this may very well be yet one more act of aggression that may not end in something substantial. Nonetheless, given Trump’s perspective, the potential of an assault on Iran can’t be dominated out, particularly given the actual fact the US bombed Iran’s nuclear services throughout Operation Rising Lion.
AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI IN HIDING, PLANNING HEIR?
Senior Iranian navy officers reportedly suggested the Ayatollah to remain in a bunker in Lavizan, a neighbourhood in north-eastern Tehran.
This transfer comes amid escalating fears of US airstrikes because the USS Abraham Lincoln, accompanied by destroyers like USS Frank E Petersen Jr, USS Spruance, and USS Michael Murphy, which have bolstered American firepower within the area. Trump has described the deployment as “precautionary”, stating the fleet is heading there “simply in case”, whereas hoping to not use it.
The hypothesis round Khamenei’s successor has gained momentum too. Whereas no official announcement has been made, potential candidates embrace his son Mojtaba Khamenei, in addition to figures like Sadeq Larijani, Alireza Arafi, and Hassan Khomeini, grandson of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Islamic Republic’s founder.
Individuals aware of the matter advised that the Meeting of Consultants may need shortlisted three unnamed people.
Nonetheless, amid a looming decapitation strike, not all voices align on the US’s potential motion on Iran.
“Focusing solely on eradicating Khamenei misses the core downside. It’s extremely useful however not sufficient. The Islamic Republic isn’t a one-man system; it’s an institutionalised regime designed for succession and continuity. This IWR tweet exhibits that the successor aligned with Khamenei’s ideology and energy community has already been designated. If an assault stops at decapitation with out aiming for regime change, the consequence isn’t transformation, it’s alternative. One other brutal hardliner steps in, so-called legitimacy is claimed, repression continues, and the cycle resets,” stated Alan B, an academician related to Harvard College, MIT, Stanford College and Columbia College.
“That’s the reason any severe assault technique should be regime-focused too, not solely individual-focused. The target should be the dismantling of the system that produces, protects and advances barbarians like him. In any other case, the fee is paid, the danger is taken, and issues could not essentially change,” Alan B additionally stated on X.
The developments come amid Iran’s ongoing protests over financial grievances and suppression of basic rights, through which over 5,000 individuals have been killed, in keeping with Iranian state media. The financial suppression worsened after Israel’s assault on Iran final yr.
Although Iran has seen no less than 4 such protests on the same scale, Khamenei might by no means be pushed out of energy. Nonetheless, with the type of belligerence that each Israel and the US are displaying in the direction of the Ayatollah regime, the stress on Khamenei is arguably at its highest. The query now could be whether or not the confluence of inner revolt in Iran, together with exterior pressures, will convey the regime to a breaking level.
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