Iran International reports that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps built a vast underground complex in Tehran to protect Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The site, called “Habib Ebrahimi,” was reportedly constructed over about a decade, from 2009 until the end of the 2010s, beneath the capital and near Khamenei’s official residence. It was disguised on the surface as a sports center.
According to plans reviewed by the outlet, the facility descended about 30 meters underground and included a vehicle entrance, a 27-meter tunnel linking the bunker to several escape routes, exits onto multiple streets, and another tunnel to a nearby parking garage by Enqelab Square in central Tehran. The complex also contained a three-level underground parking structure, shooting ranges, and two shelters at depths of roughly 30 and 35 meters.
One of those shelters contained a blast-resistant room designed to protect Khamenei from missile attacks. The documents say the project was approved by Khamenei himself and financed by the IRGC Khatam al-Anbiya Construction Headquarters, with engineering oversight by the organization’s engineering branch then headed by Brig. Gen. Ali Masjadian. The complex was named after Habib Ebrahimi, Khamenei’s former driver, who died before construction began.
Iran International said the compound was among the targets Israel struck in a March 2026 attack on the Supreme Leader’s compound. Satellite images reviewed afterward did not clearly show that the underground facility itself had been destroyed. The report also said Khamenei and other senior figures killed with him were not in a fortified underground shelter during the attack, which contributed to its success. The story contradicts earlier public claims by former Iranian officials, including ex-interior minister Mostafa Pourmohammadi and former state broadcaster chief and tourism minister Ezzatollah Zarghami, who said Khamenei had no underground shelter or had opposed building one.
