Iranian Opposition Group Says It Attacked Khamenei’s Compound — ‘Heavy Clashes’ in Tehran
An Iranian opposition group took credit for a coordinated attack on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s Tehran headquarters this week, citing “violent clashes” with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that reportedly left more than 100 of its fighters killed, injured or arrested.
The People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) Command Headquarters said the operation began at dawn on Monday, February 23, during the morning call to prayer, and continued into the afternoon around the Motahari complex in central Tehran, one of the most heavily fortified seats of power in the Islamic Republic.
According to the group, more than 250 fighters were involved in the clashes. It said more than 100 people were “martyred, injured or detained,” while more than 150 people positioned inside the compound’s outer security perimeter “returned safely to their bases” by midnight Tehran time.
On Wednesday, the PMOI/MEK said it had submitted the names and identifying information of 26 additional people – including those killed, missing or detained in Monday’s operation – to the UN special rapporteur and other international human rights organizations, urging authorities to clarify their status and whereabouts.
The group renewed its call for international representatives to meet with the detainees and have access to the bodies of those killed. It added that two professional cameramen who went to the scene solely to film the events were among the missing and that their identifying information had also been passed to international authorities.
The PMOI/MEK Internal Command Headquarters further stated that following the reported assault, air defense and combat units of the regime army and the IRGC remain on alert around the compound.
Specific casualty figures and operational details could not be independently verified, although regime-affiliated media later acknowledged explosions and unrest in the highly secure Pasteur neighborhood.
The Motahari complex – covering about half a square kilometer (about 150 acres) – houses not only Khamenei’s main office, but also the Guardian Council, the Assembly of Experts, the Supreme National Security Council, the Expediency Council, the central offices of the Ministry of Justice and Intelligence, and the office and residence of Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader’s son and widely considered his heir apparent.
The opposition group described a multi-level security architecture surrounding the site, including reinforced concrete walls more than four meters high topped with anti-drone and anti-projectile barriers, as well as internal compartmentalization giving each building its own perimeter wall.
Nearly 5,000 members of the IRGC’s elite Vali-e Amr Protection Corps and Ansar al-Mahdi Corps are tasked with guarding the compound, according to the group, which identified overall command as IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Mashrou’i-Far, known as Emami.
Seventeen rotating surveillance cameras surround the compound, the MEK said, saying several of them were deactivated at dawn with alleged internal assistance before the assault.
Momtaz News reported shortly after 6 a.m. local time that explosions were heard in Tehran. Arya News Agency later cited simultaneous attacks on Khamenei’s residence and the Supreme National Security Council.
Linked to the IRGC Boultan News wrote that the repeated explosions in “the safest part of the capital” raised a “serious question” about how adversaries could dare to strike “the heart of Tehran.”
The reported clashes and number of casualties were also mentioned by media outlets affiliated with the IRGC. Tasnim News Agency and organizations linked to Hezbollah Al-Akhbar exit. Al-Akhbar described the episode as “one of the most dangerous and complex operations carried out by the PMOI in Iran”, alleging direct support from foreign intelligence agencies.
In an exclusive statement to Breitbart News, Ivan Sascha Sheehan, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Public Affairs at the University of Baltimore and an expert on terrorism, national security and U.S. foreign policy, said that while broadly accurate, the scope of the reported operation indicates an organized capability in Iran rather than spontaneous unrest.
“The reported ability to marshal and coordinate hundreds of operatives in Tehran – one of the most heavily monitored capitals in the region – indicates a structured network with disciplined logistics, command hierarchy and operational planning, rather than ad hoc activism,” Sheehan said.
He added that operating near the Supreme Leader’s compound would involve prior knowledge of security arrangements, patrol cycles and response patterns, suggesting “significant intelligence-gathering capabilities and possibly privileged information channels.”
Sheehan further noted that if the announced operational capability is maintained, it could influence how policymakers assess Iran’s internal stability. Demonstrated internal capacity, he argues, could strengthen arguments that policy change could emerge from domestic forces rather than external intervention – which could influence both internal perceptions and international policy calculations.
The PMOI/MEK said surveillance operations, pursuit efforts and arrests continued in Tehran and surrounding cities following the clashes. It cites eyewitness accounts of anti-riot vehicles equipped with machine guns deployed at major intersections and at least three helicopters flying low over the Pasteur region around 10:30 a.m. Monday. Schools in the surrounding area were reportedly closed.
The reported attack marks a rare armed confrontation in close proximity to the Islamic Republic’s most fortified center of authority – underscoring both the symbolic sensitivity of the Motahari complex and the intensity of the confrontation between organized resistance elements and Tehran’s security apparatus.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jklein@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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