Tehran is said to have deployed an elite counterterrorism team to defend Iran's newly anointed Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, following the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a US-Israeli operation under Operation Epic Fury. The development came after rumors surfaced that the younger Khamenei was injured in strikes on February 28 that killed his father, wife, and other family members.
The report, however, was disputed by a top Iranian source, who maintained that the younger Khamenei, who has yet to address the nation or release a written statement since being declared supreme leader on Sunday, is "safe and sound".New Ayatollah Receives NOPO Shield.
According to an American media report, Iran's Counterterrorism Special Force (NOPO) has been tasked with protecting the 56-year-old Ayatollah, who is now in hiding."With (Ali) Khamenei gone, NOPO will most likely now be protecting Mojtaba Khamenei," Fox News stated, citing Ali Safavi, an official with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI.
About NOPO

The NOPO force, established in 1991, is an elite Iranian riot police unit under the Special Units Command. According to reports, it is the "best" and most well-trained special forces squad in Iranian police. NOPO, a Farsi acronym for Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, has been accused of human rights violations, including violent suppression of protests such as the 1999 student protests, 2019 unrest, and Mahsa Amini protests. "Velayat" refers to the entire regime, not just the supreme leader.According to Safavi, the NOPO is made up of six brigades exclusively. There are four stationed in Tehran, one in Mashhad, and one in Isfahan."They are significantly more lethal, brutal, and well-trained than the IRGC," he asserted before outlining the brigade's devotion to the Supreme Leader. "This force was used for the protection of Khamenei," Safavi said.
"They are really well-equipped. Khamenei did not trust any other security unit to defend him.

"But in times of crisis, such as what happened during the January uprising, they were heavily involved in opening fire on the protesters," he recalled.
The development follows claims that hundreds of NOPO members had been widely deployed near Iranian jails housing political detainees.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old supreme leader who rarely appears in public or speaks at official occasions, has yet to address the nation or give a written statement since his declaration on Sunday. Earlier on Wednesday, Yousef Pezeshkian, Iran's president's son, stated that he was safe and healthy despite claims of an injury sustained during the fight.

"I learned that Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I asked some friends with connections. "They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound," Pezeshkian, a government adviser, wrote on his Telegram channel.
The statement came after the New York Times claimed, citing three unidentified Iranian officials, that Khamenei "had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication".
On March 8, Iran's Assembly of Experts elected Mojtaba Khamenei as the Islamic Republic's third supreme leader. According to a Reuters story, Iran's Revolutionary Guards forced the selection of younger Khamenei as the new supreme leader.envisioning him as a more pliant version of his father who would support their tough objectives, ignoring the worries of pragmatists.
The Guards, who were already influential before the war, have gained much more authority since then, and they easily overcame the reservations of high political and clerical officials, whose opposition to the decision delayed the announcement by hours, according to the agency, citing sources.
According to three senior Iranian sources, a reformist former official, and another insider, Khamenei's decision, sponsored by the Guards, may result in a more assertive foreign policy and stricter internal repression.
Two of them expressed concern that the Guards' control of the system would further turn the Islamic Republic into a military state with only a thin veneer of religious legitimacy,Undermining an already diminishing support base and leaving less room to address complicated threats.