An Iranian opposition group took credit for a coordinated assault on Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s Tehran headquarters this week, reporting “heavy clashes” with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that allegedly left more than 100 of its fighters killed, wounded, or arrested.
The Command Headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK) said the operation began at dawn Monday, February 23, during the call to morning prayer, and continued into the afternoon around the Motahari Complex in central Tehran — one of the Islamic Republic’s most heavily fortified seats of power.
According to the group, more than 250 fighters were involved in the clashes. It said over 100 were “martyred, wounded, or detained,” while more than 150 positioned within the compound’s outer security perimeter “safely returned to their bases” by midnight Tehran time.
On Wednesday, the PMOI/MEK said it submitted the names and identifying details of 26 additional individuals — including those killed, missing, or detained during Monday’s operation — to the United Nations 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 detainees and to be granted access to view the bodies of those reported killed. It added that two professional cameramen who went to the scene solely to film the events are among the missing and said their identifying details were also forwarded to international authorities.
The PMOI/MEK’s internal command headquarters further stated that, following the reported assault, regime army and IRGC air defense and combat units remain on full alert around the compound.
The specific casualty figures and operational details could not be independently verified, though regime-affiliated outlets later acknowledged explosions and unrest in the heavily secured Pasteur district.
The Motahari Complex — covering roughly half a square kilometer (approximately 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 judiciary and intelligence ministry, and the office and residence of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the supreme leader and widely viewed as his heir apparent.
The opposition group described a multilayered security architecture surrounding the site, including reinforced concrete walls more than four meters (over 13 feet) high topped with anti-drone and anti-projectile barriers, along with internal compartmentalization giving each building its own perimeter wall.
Nearly 5,000 members of the elite IRGC Vali-e Amr Protection Corps and the 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 encircle the complex, the PMOI/MEK said, asserting that several were disabled at dawn with alleged inside assistance prior to the assault.
Momtaz News reported shortly after 6:00 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.
IRGC-linked Bultan News wrote that repeated explosions in “the most secure district of the capital” raised a “serious question” about how adversaries could dare strike “the heart of Tehran.”
The clashes and reported fatality count were also referenced by IRGC-affiliated Tasnim News Agency and the Hezbollah-linked Al Akhbar outlet. Al Akhbar described the episode as “one of the most dangerous and complex operations carried out by MEK 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 a scholar of terrorism, national security, and U.S. foreign policy, said that if broadly accurate, the reported scope of the operation points to an organized capability inside Iran rather than spontaneous unrest.
“The reported ability to assemble and coordinate hundreds of operatives in Tehran — one of the most heavily monitored capitals in the region — points to a structured network with logistics, command hierarchy, and disciplined operational planning, rather than ad hoc activism,” Sheehan said.
He added that operating in proximity to the Supreme Leader’s compound would imply prior knowledge of security layouts, patrol cycles, and response patterns, suggesting “meaningful intelligence-gathering capabilities and possibly insider information channels.”
Sheehan further noted that if the reported operational capacity is sustained, it could influence how policymakers assess Iran’s internal stability. Demonstrated internal capability, he said, may strengthen arguments that political change could emerge from domestic forces rather than external intervention — potentially shaping both internal perceptions and international policy calculations.
The PMOI/MEK said surveillance operations, pursuit efforts, and arrests were continuing across Tehran and surrounding cities following the clashes. It cited eyewitness accounts of anti-riot vehicles equipped with machine guns deployed at major intersections and at least three low-flying helicopters over the Pasteur area around 10:30 a.m. Monday. Schools in the vicinity were reportedly closed.
The reported assault marks a rare armed confrontation in the immediate vicinity of 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 [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
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