Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is said to be in a coma - but the Islamic Republic has released a new written message they insist was penned by him.
It has been claimed that the 56-year-old, the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was seriously wounded in an air strike.
He is understood to have lost at least one leg in the incident and is believed to have sustained severe internal injuries, possibly to his stomach or liver.
It remains unclear whether he was wounded on the same day his 86-year-old father died, on February 28.
The newly installed despot is said to be receiving treatment in intensive care at Sina University Hospital in Tehran's historic quarter.
An entire section of the building has reportedly been sealed off and placed under heavy security, per The Sun.
The source, sending discreet messages to an Iranian dissident in London, passed along details of the new Supreme Leader’s condition despite the Islamic regime’s internet blackout over the country.
Trauma teams from the hospital told the insider that the new Supreme Leader was in a “very serious” condition and under the care of renowned Iranian surgeon Mohammad Reza Zafarghajian.
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is said to be in a coma
| REUTERS“One or two of his legs have been cut off. His liver or stomach has also ruptured. He is apparently in a coma as well,” the source told London.
At the same time, Iranian state media has insisted the first message from the new Supreme Leader was written by him.
In the address claimed to be from him directly, a demand was issued for all US bases in the region to be closed and would be “attacked” otherwise.
It stated that the Islamic Republic will continue to strike these facilities in nearby Gulf states, but believes in “friendship with neighbours”.
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Mojtaba Khamenei is the son of the assassinated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
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It declared that Iran “will not refrain from avenging the blood of its martyrs”.
The statement, broadcast on the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting channel, showed an image of the Supreme Leader against a waving Iranian flag.
It also said that the regime will “seek compensation” from its enemies or “destroy their assets accordingly”.
In the address, the “resistance front” was celebrated as an “inseparable part of the Islamic revolution’s values”.
The new leader was said to have been seriously wounded in an air strike
|GETTY
Preempting the address, the regime's Telegram wrote: “The first message of Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, the supreme leader of the Islamic revolution, will be released in a few moments,” the regime's Telegram channel wrote.
The message was billed to include: “The martyred leader of the revolution (Ali Khamenei), the role and duties of the people, the armed forces, executive bodies, the resistance front, as well as the countries of the region and dealing with enemies.”
Previously, Iran had revealed the new Supreme Leader had been injured in a strike in the opening phases of the war.
However, it insisted that he was now “safe and sound”.
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