&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "Iran’s lethal ‘black-clad’ kill squad NOPO now guards new supreme leader Mojtaba")
Iran has deployed its elite counterterrorism unit, NOPO, to protect the newly appointed Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, say reports. The black-clad Counterterrorism Special Force, known as NOPO, was assigned to safeguard Mojtaba after a US-Israel strike on a Tehran compound on Feb. 28 killed the elder Khamenei. “With Khamenei gone, NOPO will likely now be protecting Mojtaba Khamenei,” reported Fox News Digital, quoting Ali Safavi, an official with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Paris-based National Council of Resistance of Iran, or NCRI, said.
“NOPO is the Farsi acronym for Nirouyeh Vijeh Pasdaran Velayat, which translates into the Special Force to Protect the Supreme Leader,” Safavi added while clarifying, “Velayat is not necessarily the supreme leader but the entirety of the regime.”
NOPO, formed in 1991, has evolved into a highly specialised unit distinct from the broader Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military branch established in 1979 to defend the Islamic Republic and its leadership from internal and external threats.
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‘Far more lethal, ruthless, and well-trained than IRGC’
“The NOPO is composed of six brigades only. Four are stationed in Tehran, one in Mashhad, and one in Isfahan,” Safavi said.
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“They are far more lethal, ruthless, and well-trained than the IRGC. This force was used for the protection of Khamenei. They are very well-equipped. Khamenei did not trust any other security force for his protection,” he added.
The unit has been deployed against internal security threats and has also often been called to suppress protests.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts elected Mojtaba Khamenei on March 8, 2026, as the third supreme leader of the Islamic Republic.
‘Now involved in suppressive and security measures regime’
The Iranian state television is reported to have said that Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in the ongoing war, but there has been no official confirmation.
“They are now involved in the suppressive and security measures the regime has undertaken in recent days to prevent any outbreak of protests,” Safavi said.
“In times of crisis, such as what happened during the January uprising, they were heavily involved in opening fire on the protesters,” he added.
Reports also say that hundreds of NOPO personnel are deployed at prisons in Iran that are holding political detainees.
“Hundreds of suppressive forces are widely deployed around the prison. In Ghezel Hesar Prison,” the NCRI said in a statement.
On March 8, the Israeli military issued a warning saying it would continue pursuing Iran’s next supreme leader and other successors. The Israeli military said in a post on X in Farsi that it would also pursue every person who seeks to appoint a successor for the slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, referring to the clerical body charged with selecting Iran’s next supreme leader.
There were reports that Mojtaba was injured in the February 28 strikes that killed his father, wife, and other family members.
56-year-old Mojtaba, who has rarely appeared in public, is yet to address the nation or issue a written statement since being declared supreme leader.
