Mojtaba Khamenei’s Injuries In US-Israeli Strikes Were ‘Superficial’, Says Top Iranian Official

A top Iranian health ministry official on Monday said Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei suffered only minor injuries during US-Israeli strikes in February, offering a rare public account of his condition after weeks of speculation.

Hossein Kermanpour, spokesperson for Iran’s health ministry, said the injuries sustained by the 56-year-old leader were “superficial” and did not require major medical treatment.

Speaking to Iran’s ILNA news agency, Kermanpour said Mojtaba arrived at a hospital in Tehran around 1 pm local time on February 28 alongside several other wounded individuals after the strikes.

“Apart from superficial injuries to the face, head and legs, which caused neither amputation nor any particular medical problem, nothing major

had happened,” he said.

The official added that the injuries required only “one or two stitches” and no special procedures.

“From my perspective as a physician these were not considered serious injuries and required no special procedures apart from one or two stitches,” he said.

According to Kermanpour, Mojtaba remained in good health throughout his hospital stay and even continued fasting during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

“He refused to break his fast and kept fasting until iftar, which itself showed his good health,” Kermanpour said.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared publicly since he was named Iran’s supreme leader on March 8, following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in the February 28 US-Israeli strikes. Since then, he has only issued written statements, fuelling speculation about the seriousness of his injuries and his overall health condition.

In March, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Mojtaba was believed to be “alive, wounded and disfigured”, although Iranian officials had largely avoided commenting publicly on the matter until now.

Kermanpour said Mojtaba was discharged from hospital in the early hours of March 1 but did not reveal where he was moved afterwards.

Iranian officials have since indicated that the supreme leader remains active behind the scenes. President Masoud Pezeshkian said earlier this month that he had met Mojtaba for a lengthy discussion, while Iranian state television later reported that senior military commanders had also held meetings with him in recent weeks.

(With inputs from AFP)