According to The New York Times, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has retreated to a secure underground bunker over concerns for his safety and has begun discreetly evaluating potential successors within Iran’s military and religious leadership in the event that current top commanders are eliminated.

The report notes that three senior clerics are now being considered as possible replacements for Khamenei should he be killed.

Notably absent from the list is his son, Mostafa Khamenei, who has long been rumored as a potential heir.