The chief of protocol at the office of the Iranian Supreme Leader has stated that Mojtaba Khamenei was slightly injured in the foot and lower back, and that “a small shrapnel had hit him behind the ear” during the Israeli-American strike that killed his father and wife on February 28th.
Mojtaba Khamenei is recovering from his injuries and is now in good health,” Mazaher Hosseini told the crowd on Friday, May 8th in Iran. Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not made any public appearances since his appointment in early March amidst the war against Israel and the United States.
The chief of protocol at the office of the Iranian Supreme Leader clarified that the Ayatollah was slightly injured in the foot and lower back, and that “a small shrapnel had hit him behind the ear,” but that the wounds were healing. “Thank God, he is in good health,” Mazaher Hosseini declared to the crowd in Iran.
“False accusations”
“The enemy spreads all kinds of rumors and false accusations. They want to see and find him, but one must be patient and not rush things. He will speak to you in due time,” he accused, directly targeting the Americans.
At the beginning of the week, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian told state media that he had a two and a half hour meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei. He would be the first to have met the Supreme Leader of the country in person.
On the first day of the war on February 28th, Mojtaba Khamenei was injured in Israeli-American strikes that cost the life of his father and predecessor as Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. His appointment by the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member college responsible for appointing the new Supreme Leader, was announced on state television on March 9th.
He shines by his absence
Since then, Mojtaba Khamenei has only spoken through statements. At 56 years old, he succeeded his father, who was killed at the age of 86 after more than three decades in power. Ali Khamenei himself succeeded the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
The portrait of Mojtaba Khamenei is ubiquitous in the streets of Iran, but the new leader is conspicuous by his absence in the public arena, unlike his father’s regular presence in the Iranian media.
