Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “nearly killed” in the US-Israel strikes in February targeting his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Mojtaba was then rushed to a Tehran hospital, only to be “pulled from the rubble” again after the US and Israel bombed the medical centre, an Iranian cleric said this week.
According to the New York Post, Mohsen Heydari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, made the revelation in an interview with Qatari television network Al Araby on Thursday (local time).
After obliterating Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Tehran in February — killing the 86-year-old supreme leader and dozens of his top leaders — the US-Israel also reportedly bombed three different hospitals in Tehran at some time in the days that followed.
“Even after he [Mojtaba Khamenei] had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed,” Heydari said, according to the New York Post.
“Mojtaba Khamenei was in the third hospital and was pulled from the rubble,” Heydari was quoted as saying.
The New York Post reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, subsequently disappeared to an unknown location and has not been seen publicly or heard from since.
The New York Post also reported that speculation had continued over Mojtaba Khamenei’s condition following the earlier strikes. US intelligence reports had reportedly suggested that he was badly disfigured in the attacks.
Last month, US President Donald Trump stated that he believes Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still alive, though he suffered severe injuries during ongoing military operations, as a mystery continues to shroud the appearance of the Iranian leader.
Speaking in an interview with US commentator Glenn Beck, Trump addressed widespread speculation regarding Khamenei’s fate following months of public absence.
“I don’t think he’s dead,” Trump told Beck. “He was very seriously wounded. The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing. He was very seriously wounded, but I don’t think he’s dead.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, said in an interview with Fox News this week that Mojtaba Khamenei was “completely” healthy.
“We met for about seven hours,” Pezeshkian told “Special Report” host Bret Baier, referring to a meeting between the two Iranian leaders last month. “We conducted talks.”
According to the news report, Heydari also spoke about the process through which Mojtaba Khamenei was selected as Iran’s new supreme leader on March 8.
He said Mojtaba Khamenei apparently did not know he had been chosen until the announcement was broadcast on Iranian state television.
The Assembly of Experts, which is mandated to choose Iran’s supreme leader, was itself reportedly targeted during the strikes.
The New York Post reported that its Qom Secretariat was bombed, killing eight people and destroying reports and recommendations concerning the selection of a new supreme leader.
Heydari said members of the Assembly subsequently wrote their votes on paper before being summoned to a secret room for the selection process. He recalled being the first member to suggest Mojtaba Khamenei’s name.
“Given the enemy’s position, we will choose and elect no one as leader and supreme guide of the Islamic Republic except Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei,” Heydari recalled saying, according to the news report.
“We obtained information that Mojtaba Khamenei was healthy and able to lead, and we determined that he met the requirements of religious qualification, justice and competence to manage the country,” he was quoted as saying.
The New York Post reported that Mojtaba Khamenei received 50 of 59 votes during the meeting, while eight members voted for Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and one member abstained.
According to the New York Post, Heydari also referred to Mojtaba Khamenei as a “man of the shadows”.
He said Mojtaba had not held a political position within the Iranian state before becoming the supreme leader, although he had reportedly served as an adviser to his father.
