Mystery Over Iran Leader possible death and Secret Moscow surgery Speculation is mounting over the fate of Iran’s newly installed Supreme Leader after reports claimed he was secretly flown to Russia for emergency surgery following injuries sustained during the war. According to Kuwaiti outlet Al‑Jarida, Mojtaba Khamenei — who succeeded his father Ali Khamenei after the elder leader was reportedly killed in an airstrike on February 28 — was quietly transported to Moscow aboard a Russian military aircraft. The report claims Vladimir Putin personally arranged for the cleric to undergo emergency leg surgery at one of the Russian president’s official residences. However, the claim remains unconfirmed, and Iranian authorities have provided almost no information about the new leader’s condition or whereabouts. Rumours of coma and severe injuriesMultiple sources have suggested the 56-year-old cleric was seriously wounded early in the conflict during the U.S. military campaign known as Operation Epic Fury. One source speaking to British media claimed Khamenei suffered catastrophic injuries, including the possible loss of one or both legs and internal organ damage, leaving him in a coma. The source said the cleric was being treated by Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi, Iran’s health minister and a prominent trauma surgeon. Iranian officials have only confirmed that the country’s new leader was wounded but have not disclosed further details. U.S. officials weigh inDuring a press briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Washington believes Khamenei was seriously injured. “We know the new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured,” he said. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has previously suggested the cleric may already be dead, further fuelling speculation. Leadership vacuum in TehranThe uncertainty surrounding Khamenei’s health has raised questions about who is actually directing the war effort inside Iran. According to reports from inside Tehran, commanders across the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have not received direct orders from the new leader. One Iranian official told reporters that many senior figures have no information about whether Khamenei is alive or capable of governing. Statement without appearanceThe mystery deepened when the new Supreme Leader issued his first statement on the war — but did not appear on camera. Instead, a news anchor read the message, in which Khamenei vowed Iran would continue retaliating for the deaths of its “martyrs” and warned that attacks on U.S. bases across the region would continue. In the statement, he also called for American military bases across the Middle East to be shut down and suggested Iranian-aligned groups in Iraq and Yemen could join the fight. For now, with the new leader unseen and possibly incapacitated, analysts say Iran’s war effort appears to be increasingly controlled by regional commanders within the Revolutionary Guard — raising fears that the conflict could continue escalating even without a functioning central leadership.
