Tehran has been rocked by one of the most daring strikes of the war, with multiple jets hammering a fortified compound widely believed to house a command bunker used by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, military and intelligence sources say.

Residents in the capital reported an earsplitting roar of low‑flying aircraft, followed by a string of deep explosions in the heavily guarded northern hills. Phone videos show a blinding flash, then a rising column of smoke over what analysts identify as a sprawling Revolutionary Guard complex that has long been rumoured to contain underground leadership shelters.

Western officials have not confirmed who carried out the raid, but early radar tracks point to a mix of stealth aircraft and stand‑off missiles launched from well outside Iran’s borders. Satellite images reviewed by experts show scorched craters, collapsed surface buildings and what appears to be a caved‑in tunnel entrance—yet no clear sign of the bunker’s full destruction.

Iranian state TV rushed on air with defiant anchors insisting Khamenei is “safe and in full control,” while showing only archive footage of past speeches. At the same time, local reports describe frantic movements of armoured convoys and ambulances into restricted zones around the capital, fuelling speculation that the strike pierced deeper than Tehran is willing to admit.

Abroad, capitals are bracing for what comes next. If this was truly an attempt to decapitate Iran’s leadership, diplomats warn, the regime’s response could move the conflict into uncharted territory—turning a brutal regional war into a fight over the survival of the Islamic Republic itself.