The latest news about Iran's new religious leader, Mujtaba Khamenei, has further heated up the media landscape in the Middle East. The New York Times, citing three Iranian sources, wrote that Mujtaba Khomeini was wounded in the leg on the very first day of the war and therefore has not appeared in public or made any statements since his election.
According to NYT interlocutors, they were informed about the wound by "a rather high-ranking government official." At the same time, it was noted that the new head was on alert and hid in a special place with strict security, where communication equipment was not used. Such "invisibility" is also explained by the desire to maximize its security against the backdrop of current military threats.
Interestingly, the Israeli side is coming to a similar conclusion: according to Reuters, Israeli intelligence has estimated that Mujtaba Khamenei received minor injuries as a result of the strikes that began on February 28.
The newspaper also highlighted another "indirect reference": the use of the term "wounded war veteran" in Iranian state media and some official congratulatory texts against Khomeini has also strengthened various speculations. Observers believe that such terms are not usually used by chance.
However, there are also refutations from the Iranian side. In particular, the son of President Piziskyan (in some sources he is mentioned as a state advisor) said that on March 10, he heard messages about Mujtaba Khomeini "wounded" through his Telegram channel, asked people in contact, and received a response that "he is healthy, there are no problems."
Another point: this is not the first time there has been talk on this topic. Similar reports appeared in Israeli media on March 7th, suggesting that Mujtaba Khamenei might have been wounded following the attacks on February 28th. Then on March 8, Iranian official publications announced the election of a new religious leader, and this, as expected, turned out to be the deceased leader's second son - 56-year-old Mujtaba Khamenei.
In short, the current picture is as follows: on the one hand, international media and some intelligence assessments are putting forward the version that "he may have been wounded," and on the other hand, official circles are refuting that "he is healthy." In such a situation, the biggest question is one: when will the new leader come to the public and personally put an end to it? Because the current silence fuels any rumor.
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