Mojtaba Khamenei has been gravely wounded but continues to lead his country, it has been claimed. The new supreme leader’s leg has been operated on three and four senior Iranian officials say he is awaiting a prosthetic.
He is believed to be having difficulty speaking after suffering severe facial burns to his face and lips, according to a report by The New York Times. Officials said that, in time, he is expected to need plastic surgery. Surrounded by a team of medical staff the report added that he has undergone surgery on one hand and is starting to regain funciton.
Khamenei has not appeared in public since assuming power following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli strike earlier this year.
Senior commanders of the Guards and senior government officials do not visit him, out of fears that Israel may trace them to him and kill him.
The 56-year-old has also not recorded a video or audio message due to fears of not wanting to appear vulnerable in his highly anticipated first public address. Instead, he has released several written statements that have been posted online and read on state television.
Messages are handwritten, sealed in envelopes, and passed along a trusted relay of couriers who transport them by car and motorcycle along highways and back roads until they reach his hideout, according to officials.
His responses are then delivered back through the same method.
Khamenei commended his forces for resisting what he called American and Israeli “arrogance”, before threatening to bring about “new defeats”.
The Supreme Leader also said his opponents’ “weakness and humiliation” had been exposed for all to see. Khamenei has not been seen since the war began.
Earlier today US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran has “no idea who their leader is” at this moment in time.
Speaking on MS Now on Thursday, Trump said: “They’re all messed up. They have no idea who their leader is. You know, we took out, really, three levels of leaders. And everybody that was even close behind him.”
