Recent media reports have suggested that Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is in a coma and has reportedly designated his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor.
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly fallen into a coma. Good riddance!
— Sumit (@SumitHansd) November 17, 2024
Billboard of Khamenei set on fire. Will the Iranian people finally be free? pic.twitter.com/2O24qxweza
Amid swirling reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is in a coma, Iran’s Supreme Leader shared a photo on Sunday showing himself in a meeting with Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon.
Multiple media outlets had recently claimed that the 85-year-old Khamenei was in a coma and had secretly named his 55-year-old son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his successor. These reports followed an October article in The New York Times suggesting that Khamenei was “seriously ill.”
In the photo shared on Khamenei’s X account, the Supreme Leader was seen speaking with Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, in his office.
In the post, Khamenei wrote in Persian: “Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, met and spoke with Mr. Mojtaba Amani, the veteran ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Lebanon, at noon today, on the sidelines of his daily meetings.”
Imam Khamenei met with Iran's ambassador to Lebanon who was wounded in Zionists' pager attacks
— Khamenei Media (@Khamenei_m) November 17, 2024
The meeting took place on Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024.https://t.co/zguWjusuIr pic.twitter.com/T5lEF0PF42
Mojtaba Amani, Iran’s Ambassador to Lebanon, was among nearly 3,000 people injured in a September explosion involving pagers and walkie-talkies used by Hezbollah. At least 39 people were killed in the attack, which Hezbollah and Iran blamed on Israel.
Amani met with Ayatollah Khamenei, presenting a report on his health. Last month, Khamenei delivered his first sermon in five years, where he supported Palestinian and Lebanese movements against Israel, and justified Iran’s missile strikes on Israeli infrastructure. In the sermon, he declared that Israel “won’t last long” and stated that Israel would not prevail against Hamas or Hezbollah, holding a gun while making his remarks.