An Israeli source previously told CNN that Khamenei was injured in an assassination attempt last week, and rumours of his injuries have swirled for days. Iran’s ambassador to Cyprus, Alireza Salarian, told the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday that Khamenei was injured in the same airstrike that killed his father, the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with five other members of the family. “I don’t think he is comfortable (in any condition) to give a speech,” Salarian told the Guardian. In 2021, photos were even published on social media showing Iranians passing out posters promoting Mojtaba Khamenei as an heir to his father. The new supreme leader, while not a high-ranking cleric, is a close associate of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IGRC) and the regime’s economic elite.

Source: CNN March 12, 2026 01:11 UTC