The new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, is injured but “safe and sound,” the son of the president said Wednesday, offering the first official explanation for why the 56-year-old has not been seen since his appointment at the weekend.
“I heard news that Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections,” Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, wrote in a post on his Telegram channel.
“They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” added the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian.
Mojtaba Khamenei, previously a low-profile but strong behind-the-scenes figure, was named Iran’s number one following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike at the start of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.
However, there had been growing concerns regarding his location and physical health since his nomination by the Assembly of Experts clerical body, with the new supreme leader yet to be seen, much less speak, in public.
State television referred to Khamenei as a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” without providing any details, referring to the confrontation that erupted during the holy Muslim fasting month.
In a report on Wednesday, the New York Times, quoting three unnamed Iranian officials, stated that Khamenei “had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication.” ”.
Mojtaba Khamenei, previously a low-profile but strong behind-the-scenes figure, was named Iran’s number one following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in an airstrike at the start of the US-Israeli war against the Islamic Republic.
However, there had been growing concerns regarding his location and physical health since his nomination by the Assembly of Experts clerical body, with the new supreme leader yet to be seen, much less speak, in public.
State television referred to Khamenei as a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” without providing any details, referring to the confrontation that erupted during the holy Muslim fasting month.
There have been rumors that he was injured in the daytime air strike on a compound in Tehran that killed his father, as well as his mother and wife, on the first day of the war on February 28.
Khamenei’s face has appeared on giant billboards in Tehran, with one showing him symbolically receiving the national flag from his father, Ali, while the founding leader of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini, looks on.
Posters of Khamenei were brandished by thousands of pro-government supporters at a huge rally in central Tehran on Monday.
However, nighttime screams of “Death to Mojtaba!” across the city have highlighted public animosity to a figure thought to have played a crucial part in crushing waves of anti-government rallies in 2009.
Mojtaba’s father, Ali, spent the last half of his life with a partially paralyzed arm after being injured in an assassination attempt in 1981, which was blamed on the People’s Mujahedin of Iran (MEK).
