Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei hasn’t met any Iranian cabinet members since the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, the opposition-aligned IranWire outlet reports, citing two unnamed sources close to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration.
The sources claim that “rumors that he is in extremely critical condition and could pass away at any moment are circulating widely within the highest levels of the regime.”
One of the sources is quoted as saying: “We would not be surprised if we heard news of his martyrdom soon.”
Mojtaba Khamenei has not made any public appearances since he became supreme leader, and no recordings of him speaking have been aired — only written statements attributed to him by state media. He was reportedly injured and possibly deformed in some way during the attack that killed his father, and has remained in hiding, reportedly communicating with other senior regime figures via a slow array of intermediaries to avoid being targeted.
Pezeshkian himself said in an interview aired by state TV on Wednesday that interaction with Khamenei is currently “very difficult.”
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