Iran International
An underground complex built by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to protect former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei included a blast-resistant room and escape tunnels beneath central Tehran, according to information received by Iran International.
Iran International obtained architectural plans for the facility from an informed source, and a security source confirmed the documents’ authenticity.
The plans show that the IRGC spent about a decade building the underground compound, known as Habib Ebrahimi, next to Khamenei’s official residence.
The complex, named after Khamenei's former driver Habib Ebrahimi, who died before construction began, was built between 2009 and the late 2010s, according to the information.
Underground network
According to the plans, the main vehicle entrance allowed cars to descend about 30 meters underground into the complex.
A 27-meter tunnel linked the bunker to multiple escape routes, including exits toward streets around. Another tunnel reportedly connected the facility to a parking garage near the Enghelab square in central Tehran.
Iran International reviewed construction images showing one tunnel exit during excavation, as well as separate images depicting a five-level underground office complex for senior officials attached to the Office of the Supreme Leader.
Sources familiar with the project, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the site was concealed beneath what appeared to be a sports center. Below ground, the facility included a three-level parking garage, target ranges and two shelters located approximately 30 and 35 meters beneath the surface.
Plans show one of those shelters contained a blast-resistant room intended to protect Khamenei during missile attacks.
Construction and oversight
The documents showed construction began in 2009 with Khamenei's approval and was financed by the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters.
The project was overseen by the IRGC's engineering division, then headed by Brigadier General Ali Masjedian, while execution was assigned to the Shahid Rajaei Institute, a subsidiary of Khatam al-Anbiya.
The institute was headed by Brigadier General Hossein Akbari. His brother, Brigadier General Hassan Akbari, supervised construction while serving both as one of Khamenei's closest bodyguards and as an official in the IRGC unit responsible for protecting the Supreme Leader.
The IRGC-linked Fars News Agency previously reported that Hassan Akbari was accidentally killed on April 29, 2016, after a weapon malfunction during a training mission.
A security source, however, told Iran International that his death was tied to an internal power struggle inside the Office of the Supreme Leader.
Contradictory public statements
The Habib Ebrahimi complex was among the Israeli military’s targets during a March 2026 strike on the Supreme Leader’s compound.
Satellite imagery reviewed by Iran International, however, did not show clear evidence that the underground facility had been destroyed.
The discovery contrasts with public remarks by former Iranian officials. Former Interior Minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi had said Khamenei had no underground shelter, while Ezzatollah Zarghami, a former broadcasting chief and tourism minister, said Khamenei had opposed building one for himself.
Khamenei was killed in a targeted Israeli strike on his residence on February 28, 2026, during a meeting of Iran's Defense Council. The Financial Times later reported that Israel had used hacked traffic cameras and telecommunications infrastructure around the area to identify the gathering before the attack.
