Iran Supreme Leader "Unconscious", Not Involved In Decision-Making: Report

Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader, who was wounded in US-Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, is reportedly incapacitated and receiving medical treatment in the holy city of Qom. Citing a diplomatic memo, The Times reported that the 56-year-old cleric was unconscious and being treated for a "severe" medical condition.

It's the first time the location of Iran's supreme leader is revealed. The central city of Qom is located 87 miles (around 140 kilometres) south of Tehran. The city is considered sacred in Shia Islam and is known as the religious capital of the Islamic republic.

"Mojtaba Khamenei is being treated in Qom in a severe condition, unable to be involved in any decision-making by the regime," the document, which is believed to be based on American and Israeli intelligence that was shared with Gulf allies, read. 

Information on the Supreme leader's location was reportedly known to US and Israeli spy agencies for some time but has not previously been made public.

Ali Khamenei Funeral

According to the report, the body of elder Khamenei, who was assassinated in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, is being prepared for burial in Qom, which is considered the seat of Shia clerical power. 

US and Israeli spy agencies reportedly have intel about the preparation of "laying the groundworks needed to build a large mausoleum in Qom" for "more than one grave", suggesting that other family members could be buried alongside the late supreme leader.

The Times report claimed that Mojtaba Khamenei could himself be buried in the mausoleum, suggesting the new Iranian Supreme Leader's condition might be critical. 

So far, neither Washington nor Tehran has issued any statement on the claims made in the report. 

Iran On Mojtaba Khamenei

Iran has confirmed that the younger Khamenei was wounded in the same airstrike that killed his father, his mother, his wife Zahra Haddad-Adel, and one of his sons on the first day of the war that has inflamed the Middle East for over five weeks. 

The new Supreme Leader has neither been seen nor heard from in public since the start of the war, despite being chosen to succeed his father in early March. Several statements attributed to Khamenei have been read on Iranian state television, but the lack of a recording of his voice adds weight to unverified reports that he remains in a critical condition.

Tehran also released an AI-produced video of the leader walking into a war room and analysing a map of Israel's nuclear power plant in Dimona on Monday. 

While Iranian officials have insisted that the new supreme leader is "in charge" of the country, previous reports have alluded to Khamenei's medical condition. US reports have claimed he is being treated in a coma in a hospital, while others have suggested he suffered a broken leg and facial injuries.