The Supreme Leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly picked three potential successors and implemented a contingency leadership structure to ensure continuity in the event of his death amid an ongoing war with Israel.

According to Iranian officials who spoke to The New York Times, Khamenei, 86, is facing what insiders describe as the gravest moment of his decades-long rule.

He is reportedly operating from a secure underground bunker and has significantly reduced electronic communication

Three Iranian officials familiar with the plans said the Iranian leader now communicates with military commanders only through a trusted aide to avoid being traced.

Khamenei, aware that he may be directly targeted, reportedly instructed Iran’s Assembly of Experts, the body constitutionally mandated to appoint a new supreme leader, to choose one of the three names he provided should he be assassinated.

According to the report, Khamenei has also appointed backups down the chain of military command in anticipation of further Israeli strikes targeting high-ranking officers.

Several key commanders, including leaders of the Revolutionary Guard, the army, and Iran’s emergency forces, were killed in the war’s opening days.

According to the report, the country’s Intelligence Ministry has instructed senior officials to remain underground and cease all electronic communications, including the use of cell phones.

Though a dissident outlet, Iran International, claimed Khamenei and his family relocated to a shelter in Lavizan in northeast Tehran, there has been no independent confirmation.

The issue of succession in Iran has traditionally been handled by the Assembly of Experts through lengthy and opaque deliberations.

However, with the Islamic Republic now embroiled in a direct conflict with Israel, Khamenei is pushing for a swift and controlled transition should he fall.

Notably, his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, long rumoured to be a potential successor, is not among the three nominees.