British media claim: Iran's Supreme Leader is seriously ill and in a coma, unable to participate in national decision-making

Questions for AI: What potential impact could rumors about Mujtaba Khamenei’s health have on Iran’s power structure?

【Text / Observer Network Wang Yi】

With no public appearance for a long time, rumors about the current health and safety status of Iran’s top leader, Mujtaba Khamenei, are rife and vary widely.

The website of the British newspaper The Times broke the story on April 6, claiming that a diplomatic memo based on US and Israeli intelligence reveals that Mujtaba is currently in a coma and receiving treatment in the holy city of Qom, and that his condition is “so serious” he can no longer participate in any national decision-making.

However, this claim has not been confirmed by any party at present, especially not by Iranian officials. Regarding speculation about the physical condition of the Supreme Leader, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bagheri responded on the 1st of this month that Mujtaba is in good health, but his public appearances have been delayed due to the war.

To “substantiate” the authenticity of the above information, British media said that US and Israeli intelligence agencies already had Mujtaba’s specific location, but had not previously disclosed it; they had shared the relevant memo with Gulf allies.

The memo claims that the body of Mujtaba’s father—Ali Khamenei, the late Iranian Supreme Leader—is being prepared for burial at Qom, a major Shia religious holy site. The city lies about 140 kilometers south of Tehran. The Iranian government has begun “building a large mausoleum” there, and the plan also includes “more than one burial plot,” implying that members of the Khamenei family, and even Mujtaba himself, may be buried there as well.

However, the memo provides no further specific information, and inferring that Mujtaba may also be “buried there” based solely on the number of burial plots is somewhat hasty. After all, Iranian authorities have previously confirmed that Mujtaba was injured in the leg during an airstrike on the first day of the war, and that his family—his father, mother, wife, and a son—were all killed in the US-Israeli strikes that day.

The report further speculates that Ali Khamenei’s funeral has been postponed. Iranian officials had previously said he would be buried at a Shia shrine in his hometown, Mashhad, and that a public mourning ceremony would be held in Tehran, but the specific date had not yet been announced. Later, Iran announced again that the state funeral would be postponed because the number of expected attendees would be “unprecedentedly huge,” which “obviously does not conform to the Shia tradition of being buried as soon as possible.”

That said, The Times acknowledged that Iran’s move might be intended to avoid a repetition of the chaos seen during the 1989 funeral of Khomeini. At the time, about 10 million people participated in his funeral; the venue was overcrowded and chaotic, and even caused the body to slip out of the casket.

 

A photo/illustration of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mujtaba Khamenei

The paper continues to speculate that although Iran’s state television has aired two segments of Mujtaba’s statements, both were in the form of read-aloud recordings. On the 6th, the broadcaster also released a video that appeared to be generated by artificial intelligence; the visuals show him entering a war room to analyze a map of Israel’s nuclear facility in Dimona, yet there is no real audio—“which further corroborates reports that he is currently in a critical state.”

British media also cited statements from Iranian opposition figures claiming that Mujtaba is currently in a coma. Some unnamed sources also claimed that Mujtaba may have a broken leg or injuries to his face.

The report goes on to frame the issue, saying that as the Supreme Leader—the highest authority in Iran’s politics and religion—if he is “incapacitated,” it will trigger widespread speculation about who actually holds the country’s real power. Some believe that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may already have gained de facto control, while Mujtaba may be only a symbolic figure.

Since Mujtaba himself was announced as Iran’s new Supreme Leader in early March, he has never appeared publicly or made any statements. Rumors about his health and safety have remained rampant. In March, Kuwait’s media outlet, the Kuwait newspaper [Aljarida], disclosed that Mujtaba was injured in the US-Israeli airstrikes, with damage on the left side of his body from his head to his feet. The UK’s The Sun, citing sources last month, claimed that Mujtaba had at least lost one leg, and that his stomach or liver may also have suffered severe damage; his condition was “very serious.” US Defense Secretary Hegseth also claimed that the US side learned that Mujtaba had been injured and that he was very likely to have been “disfigured.”

Regarding these rumors, Iran has confirmed that Mujtaba was injured, calling him a “survivor” of the first round of US-Israeli airstrikes, but denied all claims that Mujtaba is “in an unhealthy state.” On April 1, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Bagheri stated that Mujtaba is in good health and that his public appearances have been delayed due to the war. On the same day, the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran also posted the contents of his first speech on social media.

At present, Mujtaba is still issuing messages through Iran’s official channels of the Supreme Leader. According to RT International Television (RTVi), the Russian ambassador to Iran said that Mujtaba is currently in Iran, but “for understandable reasons,” he has not appeared in public.

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