Fact Check: Is Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, alive?

TEHRAN, IRAN: As the conflict in the Middle East has intensified following the death of Iran’s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei in a joint operation by the United States and Israel, which has left his son Mojtaba Khamenei reported injured, a rumor has been circulating that Ayatollah's wife is also dead. Let us fact-check the claim.

Claim: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's wife is dead

Following the strikes by the US and its allies in Tehran on February 28, in which Ayatollah Khamenei was killed along with several members of his family, reports began circulating that his wife, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, who was severely injured during the missile attacks, later succumbed to her injuries.

The rumor was even reported by prominent news media outlets, including The Washington Journal. However, the news sparked speculation with many believing the claim to be untrue.

Fact Check: Iranian state media rebuts the claim

According to the Iranian state media, the reports that Khamenei had lost his wife are false. 

In response to the speculations, Fars News, an outlet under the IRGC, confirmed on Thursday that Mansoureh is alive.

Although she was severely wounded during the attacks, she is still alive, which invalidates the common allegations that went around earlier this month.

The speculation stemmed from Mojtaba Khamenei not mentioning his mother in the first statement he made as the new Supreme Leader, which had created confusion.

Mojtaba Khamenei vows revenge 

According to several local media reports, apart from Ali Khamenei, several members of his family, including his daughter-in-law, son-in-law, daughter, and grandchild, were also killed in strikes on the first day of the war.

In his first public address as Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to avenge the deaths of the Iranians killed in the ongoing war between Iran and the US, Israel, including the children killed in strikes on Minab school.

In his statement, which was read out on state television by a news anchor, Mojtaba highlighted Tehran’s position on the war and called for using the closure of the Strait of Hormuz as leverage against the 'enemy.'

As the global energy crisis mounts due to the ongoing war and closure of the strait, Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei reportedly said that several ships can pass through the channel, but only if they coordinate with Iran's navy.