Iran’s Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has moved to an underground shelter in Tehran, as officials of the country fear a U.S attack.

The facility is said to be fortified and has many interconnected tunnels to protect the country’s supreme leader in case a war-like situation arises.

Masoud Khamenei, the supreme leader’s third son, is managing the communication and administration with the country’s executive branches.

The move comes amidst rising tensions between Tehran and Washington.

U.S President Trump has also ordered a naval fleet to head towards the Middle East ‘just in case’ he decides to act against Tehran.

According to a senior Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and many other guided-missile destroyers are being deployed in the Indian Ocean. They will arrive in the Middle East in a few days.

U.S naval aircraft are also being sent to protect U.S. and Israeli airbases in the region. The United Kingdom will also provide its Eurofighter Typhoon jets to Qatar.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard commander, General Mohammad Pakpour, issued an open warning to the U.S, saying that Iranian forces are more than ready to execute their leader’s commands.

Any attack will be considered an all-out war, and Iran will respond ‘the hardest way possible’.

Iran has now faced weeks of unrest, protests and slogans caused by economic hardships and a fall in the national currency, the rial.

Nationwide protests have led to a security crackdown and what activists called the longest internet shutdown in the nation’s history.

Per a US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), at least 5,002 people had been killed in the crackdown, including 4,716 demonstrators, 43 children, and 40 civilians not directly involved in protests. Over 25,000 people have been arrested.