An Iranian Assembly of Experts member says Khamenei was rescued from a bombed Tehran hospital, adding to conflicting reports about his injuries and current condition.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly pulled from the rubble of a Tehran hospital after the facility was struck during the Iran war, according to an account from Iranian cleric Mohsen Heydari Alekasir.
Heydari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, made the claim during an interview with Qatari broadcaster Al Araby, according to reports by the New York Post and Jerusalem Post. He said Khamenei had already been injured and taken to hospital when three medical facilities in Tehran were subsequently hit.
“Even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed,” Heydari said, according to the reports. He added that Khamenei was at the third hospital and was pulled from the rubble.
The account has not been independently verified.
Conflicting Accounts Over His Condition
The report adds another layer to months of uncertainty surrounding Khamenei’s health.
According to the latest accounts, the 56-year-old leader was subsequently moved to an undisclosed location and has largely remained out of public view. Heydari said his limited public appearances were linked to security concerns surrounding both Khamenei and members of the Assembly of Experts.
There are conflicting claims about the severity of his injuries.
Reports citing US intelligence have previously said Khamenei suffered serious injuries during the strikes. Former US President Donald Trump also said he believed Khamenei was alive but badly wounded.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, has offered a markedly different account, saying Khamenei was “completely” healthy after a reported seven-hour meeting.
The competing claims mean there is currently no independently established public account of Khamenei’s precise medical condition.
How Mojtaba Khamenei Became Supreme Leader
Heydari also described the process that resulted in Khamenei’s selection as Iran’s supreme leader on March 8, 2026.
The Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for selecting Iran’s supreme leader, was itself reportedly affected by the strikes. According to the reports, its Qom secretariat was bombed, killing eight people and destroying documents related to the succession process.
Heydari said members subsequently recorded their votes on paper before being taken to a secure location for the selection.
He said he was the first member to propose Mojtaba Khamenei’s name and that members had received information indicating that Khamenei was healthy enough to lead and met the religious and leadership requirements for the position.
According to the reported account, 50 of 59 members voted for Khamenei, while eight supported Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and one abstained.
Heydari said Khamenei did not know about his selection until the decision was announced on Iranian state television.
A Leader Who Previously Stayed Out of Public View
Before becoming supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei did not hold a formal political position within the Iranian state, according to Heydari.
He was nevertheless known to have been an adviser to his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike earlier in the conflict, according to current reporting.
Heydari described the younger Khamenei as a “man of the shadows”, reflecting his relatively limited public political profile before assuming Iran’s highest leadership position.
His succession was therefore significant not only because of the circumstances surrounding his selection, but also because of how little public information had previously been available about his political role.
Questions Still Surround His Whereabouts
The latest account provides a new explanation for Khamenei’s absence from public view, but it does not independently settle questions about his health.
The claim that he was rescued from a bombed hospital comes from a single Iranian Assembly of Experts member speaking to Al Araby and has been reported by other outlets. Other accounts of Khamenei’s condition remain contradictory.
For now, the most concrete development is the new testimony about the hospital strike and his reported rescue from the rubble.
His continued absence means questions about the extent of his injuries and his current condition remain unresolved.
Source: Gulf News
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Photo: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
