Mojtaba Khamenei was ‘pulled from the rubble’ of Tehran hospital after US-Israel strikes: Report

TEHRAN, IRAN: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly pulled from the rubble of a Tehran hospital after US and Israeli strikes hit the facility, according to Iranian cleric Mohsen Heydari.

In an interview with Qatari television on Thursday, September 24, Heydari described the rescue following the February 28 strikes that began the war.

The 56-year-old has not appeared in public or been heard speaking since the conflict began, leaving questions about his health and whereabouts.

Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly rescued after hospital strike

Heydari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, said Mojtaba had been wounded and taken to a hospital when strikes hit three medical facilities in Tehran.

“Even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed,” Heydari told Al Araby. “Mojtaba Khamenei was in the third hospital and was pulled from the rubble.”

Mojtaba reportedly disappeared to an unknown location after the rescue.

The account adds to the uncertainty surrounding his condition following the initial strikes, which targeted the Tehran compound of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The February 28 attack killed the 86-year-old supreme leader and dozens of senior figures, according to reports.

Mojtaba Khamenei’s secret path to Iran’s leadership

Heydari also described the secret process that led to Mojtaba’s selection on March 8.

He said Mojtaba did not know he had been chosen until the announcement appeared on Iranian state television. Once selected, he was “legally and religiously” obligated to accept the role.

The Assembly of Experts, responsible for choosing Iran’s supreme leader, had reportedly also been targeted. A bombing at its Qom Secretariat killed eight people and destroyed reports and recommendations related to the selection.

Members later wrote their votes on paper before being summoned to a secret meeting, without being told its location or purpose in advance.

Heydari said he was the first to propose Mojtaba’s name, despite President Donald Trump having warned Iran against choosing the late leader’s son.

“Given the enemy’s position, we will choose and elect no one as leader and supreme guide of the Islamic Republic except Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei,” Heydari recalled saying.

Mojtaba won 50 of 59 votes. Eight members voted for Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, while one abstained.

Mojtaba Khamenei described as healthy and fit to lead

Heydari said the assembly had received information that Mojtaba was healthy and capable of leading the country.

“We obtained information that Mojtaba Khamenei was healthy and able to lead, and we determined that he met the requirements of religious qualification, justice and competence to manage the country,” he told Al Araby.

He described Mojtaba as a “man of the shadows,” noting that he had never held an official political position in Iran before becoming supreme leader, although he reportedly advised his father.

Claims about Mojtaba’s health have varied. US intelligence reports have suggested that he was badly disfigured in the attacks.

Trump said last month, “I don’t think he’s dead,” while describing him as seriously wounded. “He was very seriously wounded. The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing,” Trump said.

Masoud Pezeshkian says Mojtaba Khamenei remains healthy

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian offered a different account during a Fox News interview this week in New York, where he was attending the United Nations General Assembly.

Pezeshkian said he had met Mojtaba about a month earlier and described him as “completely” healthy.

He said Mojtaba was “completely” healthy and that the two had met the previous month. “We met for about seven hours,” Pezeshkian told “Special Report” host Bret Baier. “We conducted talks.”