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'Fine, in good situation': Iran official rejects rumours about Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's health
A recent report said that Mojtaba Khamenei had suffered serious injuries in US-Israel strikes and that he may even need a plastic surgery.
Iran Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is in a good situation and fine, his Deputy Representative in India, Dr Mohammad Hossein Ziyaeenia said as he dismissed the speculations and rumours surrounding his health. Track updates on Iran US war
Mojtaba hasn't appeared publicly ever since he was chosen to succeed his father, Syed Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike in the beginning of the Middle East conflict that started on February 28. Iran's new leader has been issuing statements mostly from his social media channels such as X and Telegram or are read on the state television after he took reins of the Islamic Republic in March.
"The situation of our Supreme Leader, Hazrat Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei, is, thanks to God, good. According to the communication that we had a couple of days ago, he is in a good situation, he's fine," Ziyaeenia was quoted as saying by ANI.
He played down the speculations concerning his health and termed them wrong. "All these rumours that his health is not in a good situation and he has some problems - these are not authentic, and he is fine," Ziyaeenia said.
Report on Mojtaba Khamenei's health
The New York Times recently reported on Mojtaba's health and attributed his absence from public sphere to injuries that he suffered on the first day of war on February 28, in which his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a strike by the United States of America.
Since then, access to Mojtaba Khamenei has been highly restricted, with only a limited circle--primarily medical personnel--attending to him as he recovers from injuries sustained in the strikes, The New York Times reported.
The report claimed that Mojtaba is “gravely wounded”, though he is still “mentally sharp and engaged”, according to four senior Iranian officials familiar with his health.
They added that the new Supreme Leader is in need of a prosthetic as one of his legs has been operated upon three times. One of his hands was also operated upon and it is not regaining function slowly, the report said.
The report further cited officials as saying that he suffered severe burn injuries on his face and lips due to which he has not been facing difficulty speaking and will eventually need a plastic surgery.
Mojtaba Khamenei's response
However, the NYT report grabbed Mojtaba's attention as he slammed the ‘enemy’s media operations'.
Following the New York Times report on his health and injuries, Mojtaba on his social media slammed the ‘enemy’s media operations that “seek to undermine unity and national security”.
The report also added that the senior commanders of the Iran Guards and senior government officials do not visit him as they fear that Israel may trace his location though them and kill him.
To avoid being tracked down by US and Israel, messages to Mojtaba are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and passed on via a human chain from one trusted courier to the next, who travel on highways and back roads, in cars and on motorcycles until they reach his hide-out, the report added. His responses and guidance on issues in response to the messages follow the same track. He is mostly surrounded by doctors and healthcare professionals.
