Mojtaba Khamenei Reportedly Recovering From Severe Injuries, Awaiting Prosthetic Leg After Strike That Killed His Father

Reports say Mojtaba Khamenei, who was declared Iran’s new supreme leader after an airstrike reportedly killed his father, Ali Khamenei, is recovering from multiple serious injuries and awaits a prosthetic leg.

According to a report in The New York Times, Mojtaba was wounded in the strike tied to a U.S.-led operation called Operation Epic Fury, which began at the end of February. The initial wave of strikes is reported to have killed nearly 50 members of Iran’s leadership, including Ali Khamenei. Days after Iranian officials confirmed Ali Khamenei’s death, state authorities announced that Mojtaba had been selected as the country’s new supreme leader.

While Mojtaba has been largely out of public view since his selection, four senior Iranian officials told The New York Times that he remains mentally alert and engaged in state affairs even as he recuperates. The officials provided the following account of his condition:

Though Mr. Khamenei was gravely wounded, he is mentally sharp and engaged, according to four senior Iranian officials familiar with his health. One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic. He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery.

Officials say Mojtaba has not released audio or video messages because he does not want to appear vulnerable or weak in his first public address. Instead, he has issued written statements that were posted online and read on state television.

Sources also described extraordinary security and communications measures around the new leader. Messages to him are reportedly handwritten, sealed in envelopes and passed along a chain of trusted couriers who travel by car and motorcycle on highways and back roads to reach his hideout. Guidance from him is said to be relayed back the same way.

Those same sources told The New York Times that Mojtaba’s leadership style so far appears different from his father’s. Where Ali Khamenei reportedly exercised near-absolute control over decisions on war, peace and negotiations, Mojtaba is described by officials as acting more like a “director of the board,” relying heavily on advice and guidance from senior advisers and council members.

These details come from anonymous senior officials quoted by The New York Times; they have not been independently verified. The developments are likely to shape both Iran’s domestic politics and its diplomatic posture while Mojtaba recovers and consolidates authority.