Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ali Khamenei and dubbed as Iran's next Supreme Leader, was treated for impotency and could not ‘find a wife’, WikiLeaks documents show. The Julian Assange-led platform added that the 56-year-old repeatedly visited hospitals in the UK for his treatment. This comes as reports stating that Mojtaba will be chosen as the successor to his father, who was killed in the US-Israeli operations, surfaced on Tuesday.
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A classified briefing sent by the State Department to the US Embassy in London in 2008, and later released by WikiLeaks, shows that Mojtaba was put under pressure by his family to produce children. He was asked to make four visits to hospitals, and his final stay lasted two months. He has a son named Ali.
“Mojtaba was expected by his family to produce children quickly, but needed a fourth visit to the UK for medical treatment; after a stay of two months, his wife became pregnant,” the diplomatic cable read.
Mojtaba Khamenei is married to Zahra Haddad Adel. As per intelligence, he tied the knot in 2004, 'reportedly due to an impotency problem treated and eventually resolved during three extended visits to the UK’. The document adds that he visited the Wellington and Cromwell Hospitals in London.
{{/usCountry}}Mojtaba Khamenei is married to Zahra Haddad Adel. As per intelligence, he tied the knot in 2004, 'reportedly due to an impotency problem treated and eventually resolved during three extended visits to the UK’. The document adds that he visited the Wellington and Cromwell Hospitals in London.
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“Mojtaba was expected by his family to produce children quickly, but needed a fourth visit to the UK for medical treatment,” the doc stated. “After a stay of two months, his wife became pregnant. Back in Iran, a healthy boy was born, named Ali for his paternal grandfather.”
The WikiLeaks reveal notes that Mojtaba's marriage to the daughter of former Majles Speaker Hadad Adel followed two ‘temporary marriages’. Both his wife and son were reportedly among the 49 people killed in the recent strikes.
Ali Khamenei's successor is set to be named by the top clerical body the Assembly of Experts, with one of its members, Ahmad Khatami, telling Iranian state media on Wednesday that they hoped to vote ‘at the earliest opportunity’.
Contenders for the top position include Alireza Arafi, one of the three members of the interim council running the country, hardliner Mohsen Araki, and even Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic in 1979.
(With AFP inputs)