Summary: Israel conducted a strike on an underground bunker beneath the compound of Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, claiming it was an emergency command center still in use by senior officials. The attack is part of a broader, escalating wave of strikes between Israel and Iran that began with the operation that killed Khamenei days earlier. Satellite imagery and visual evidence reviewed by The New York Times show fresh damage at the compound site.
Main Topics Covered:
1. The Israeli military's strike on an alleged Iranian underground command bunker.
2. The escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, following the earlier strike that killed Ayatollah Khamenei.
3. The verification of the attack and its effects using satellite imagery and open-source visual evidence.
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Israel Says It Struck Underground Bunker at Khamenei’s Compound
The Israeli military said the facility, under the site where Iran’s supreme leader was killed by a strike last week, was still being used after the first attack.
The Israeli military said on Friday it had hit an underground bunker in Tehran located beneath the compound of Iran’s slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In a statement, the Israeli military said the bunker had been intended to serve as an emergency command center for Ayatollah Khamenei. He was killed on Saturday while above ground at the compound after Israel and the United States launched a wave of strikes inside Iran. Those strikes, now in their seventh day, have triggered a rapidly escalating conflict across the Middle East and beyond.
The underground bunker, the military said, had continued to be used by senior Iranian officials since the initial strike. It spanned multiple streets, with several entrances and meeting rooms. The Israeli military released video that it said showed the strike, which it said involved about 50 fighter jets, along with graphics that it said showed the layout of the facility.
The New York Times reviewed satellite imagery taken on Friday and published by Planet Labs showing fresh damage to buildings around the leadership compound, in addition to impacts from the Saturday strikes that killed Ayatollah Khamenei.
The Times also verified photos that were shared on Telegram channels on Friday morning showing dark columns of smoke rising from the same location, as well as a video showing explosions in the area.
One of the buildings that appeared to have been damaged in Friday’s satellite image was labeled an entry point to the underground bunker on the Israeli military’s graphics.
Two Israeli officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details, confirmed the bunker had been used by Ayatollah Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials.
It was unclear whether anyone was killed in Friday’s attack.
Sanjana Varghese is a reporter on The Times’s Visual Investigations team, specializing in the use of advanced digital techniques to analyze visual evidence.
Ronen Bergman is a staff writer for The New York Times Magazine, based in Tel Aviv.
Euan Ward is a Times reporter covering Lebanon and Syria. He is based in Beirut.
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