Khamenei picks possible successors amid war, son Mojtaba not among them - NYT

The unprecedented step reflects the seriousness with which the 86-year-old leader views the current threat environment, as Israeli airstrikes continue to target Iranian military and nuclear assets.

Khamenei, who is now operating from a secure underground location and communicating through a trusted aide, has also named backups for key military positions in case more senior commanders are killed, the NYT cited the officials as saying.

“Ayatollah Khamenei’s son Mojtaba, also a cleric and close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, who was rumored to be a front-runner, is not among the candidates,” the report said.

The identity of the three clerics has not been disclosed, but the move is seen as an effort to ensure a swift and orderly succession via the Assembly of Experts if the supreme leader is assassinated or dies unexpectedly.

As Iran International previously reported, Khamenei was relocated to an underground bunker in Lavizan, northeast Tehran, shortly after the airstrikes began. His close family, including Mojtaba, are also at the facility. The transfer followed internal assessments of vulnerability at top levels of Iran’s leadership.

In a separate report, Iran International learned that Khamenei has delegated key powers to the Supreme Council of the Revolutionary Guards in what officials described as a wartime precaution, allowing critical decisions to proceed should the Supreme Leader become incapacitated.

Police in Cyprus have arrested an Azerbaijani man with alleged ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on suspicion of involvement in a terror-related plot, Cypriot media reported Friday.

The arrest, made in the southern city of Limassol, followed intelligence suggesting the man was planning an imminent attack, according to Phileleftheros, Cyprus’s largest daily newspaper. Authorities said he had been in the country since April.

The suspect was brought before Limassol District Court on Friday and ordered held for eight days pending investigation. Police declined to release further details, citing national security concerns.

Iran must halt planned executions and protect detainees accused of espionage from torture and ill-treatment, Amnesty International said Friday, warning of a surge in politically motivated death sentences following the escalation of hostilities with Israel.

Since June 13, Iranian authorities have arrested scores of people over alleged collaboration with Israel, executed one man, and publicly called for expedited trials and capital punishment. Amnesty said many detainees are at risk of torture, coerced confessions, and unfair trials.

“The authorities are weaponizing the death penalty to instill fear and assert control,” said Hussein Baoumi, Amnesty’s Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa. He said using executions in cases that do not involve intentional killing, such as espionage, violates international law.

Iran’s Supreme Council of National Security has said that actions perceived as supporting Israel—including sharing information, promoting dissent, or even improving Israel’s image—could be charged as “corruption on earth” or “enmity against God,” both capital offenses under Iranian law.

Amnesty expressed concern for at least eight individuals already on death row for similar charges, including Swedish-Iranian academic Ahmadreza Djalali. Others named include detainees held in prisons in Tehran, West Azerbaijan, Fars, and Alborz provinces. Amnesty said several of them were convicted in trials marred by forced confessions and torture.

The human rights group also criticized a bill recently fast-tracked by Iran’s parliament that would automatically make espionage punishable by death, removing prosecutorial requirements to prove broader acts of “corruption.”

Dozens of US military aircraft have been tracked flying toward the Middle East in recent days, as Washington weighs possible involvement in the conflict between Israel and Iran, Sky News reported citing flight data.

Between Monday and Thursday, 52 US military planes were observed over the eastern Mediterranean, with 25 passing through Chania airport on the Greek island of Crete—an eightfold increase compared to early June.

The aircraft included transport, refueling, and reconnaissance planes. Forbes McKenzie, head of McKenzie Intelligence, said the activity suggests "the build-up of warfighting capability" in the region.

Additional fighter jets, including F-22 Raptors and F-35s, have also been reported, though their movements are typically not reflected in public tracking data.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that any US involvement in the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel would be “very, very dangerous,” speaking to reporters Saturday in Istanbul.

He said Iran is open to a negotiated solution on its nuclear program but cannot engage in talks while “its people are under bombardment.” Araghchi accused the United States of being involved in the hostilities from the outset.