Widespread Clashes Between Mojahedin and IRGC / Protection Forces at Khamenei’s Headquarters on February 23, 2026

2026-02-24 - 11:54

According to the information received, the Command Headquarters of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), inside the country announced that in the early hours of Monday February 23, 2026, until Monday afternoon, in a series of heavy clashes with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) around Khamenei’s headquarters, more than 100 Mojahedin fighters were martyred or arrested. More than 150 Mojahedin fighters who had taken positions in the second security perimeter of Khamenei’s headquarters all safely returned to their bases by midnight Monday (Tehran time). The names and identities of more than 100 martyrs, wounded, and detainees from among the Mojahedin fighters on Monday, will be provided as soon as possible to international human rights organizations, the Command Headquarters of the PMOI/MEK inside Iran announced. The office and residence of Mojtaba Khamenei (Khamenei’s son), the Guardian Council, the Assembly of Experts, the central office of the judiciary, the central office of the Intelligence Minister, the Supreme National Security Council, and the Expediency Council are all located adjacent to Khamenei’s headquarters within the same compound known as the Motahari Complex. The Motahari Complex, with Khamenei’s headquarters located in its northern section, measures approximately 620 by 770 meters. Seventeen rotating surveillance cameras have been installed around the Motahari Complex; with assistance from individuals inside Khamenei’s headquarters, some of them were disabled at dawn. Enemy casualties inside Khamenei’s headquarters are reported to be heavy, but no precise figures are available. Ambulance traffic into the compound, escorted by special units, continued until noon on Monday. Surveillance operations, pursuit, and arrests are continuing in the most brutal manner across various parts of Tehran and surrounding cities. The honorable people of Tehran have, in many cases, assisted and provided shelter to the Mojahedin fighters, especially the wounded. The entire perimeter around Khamenei’s headquarters is surrounded by prefabricated reinforced-concrete walls more than four meters high, topped with metal anti-drone and anti-projectile barriers. Within the Motahari Complex, each building has its own enclosed perimeter wall. Nearly 8,000 personnel from various military and intelligence units are responsible for protecting Khamenei’s headquarters and the Motahari Complex. Overall command is held by IRGC Brigadier General Hassan Mashrou’i-Far, known as Emami. Two thousand personnel belong to the IRGC Vali-e Amr Protection Corps, which also includes the pilots and crews of Khamenei’s special helicopters. The main command headquarters of this Corps is located in a four-story building south of the compound. The Ansar al-Mahdi Corps, numbering about 2,750 personnel, is responsible for the second and third security perimeters of the compound. Perimeter 2 is a circle with a radius of 350 meters, and Perimeter 3 is a circle with a radius of 500 meters. Contrary to the regime’s repeated denials, schools around Pasteur Street were closed Monday morning, and special units were deployed inside school buildings. Heavy traffic restrictions and the movement of security forces were visible to the public. From 7:00 a.m. Monday, citizens observed regime anti-riot vehicles equipped with machine guns at the Valiasr–Jomhouri intersection. At 10:30 a.m., three low-flying helicopters were observed over the Pasteur area and Khamenei’s headquarters. The regime-affiliated Momtaz News website first reported the explosions at 6:00 a.m. Monday local time, writing: “A few minutes ago, several users reported hearing the sound of explosions in Tehran.” Subsequently, Arya News Agency reported simultaneous attacks on Khamenei’s residence and the Supreme National Security Council in the Pasteur district of Tehran. Bultan News, run by the IRGC, wrote at 11:50 a.m. Monday: “The repeated sounds of explosions last night in the Pasteur Street area, the most secure district of the capital, have raised a serious question among all officials and those concerned about the system. What has happened to us that the enemy now covets the heart of Tehran and dares to reach out toward it? This question is not the question of an external critic; it is a cry of pain from within, a cry asking which one of you gentlemen has asked yourselves where the root of this enemy’s audacity lies? Is it not true that it comes from ourselves, that what has befallen us is of our own making? “Under such circumstances, none of us has the right to pass even a single night in comfort — let alone allow the enemy to dare, in the most sensitive point of the capital, Pasteur Street, to carry out explosions and gunfire and challenge our devoted forces.”