Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei new health update has revealed his concerning condition as US extends ceasefire.
Khamenei who has not been seen and whose voice has not been heard since he was appointed in March. Instead, a battle-hardened collective of commanders in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and those aligned with them are the key decision-makers on matters of security, war and diplomacy, Khaleej Times reported.
Abdolreza Davari, a politician who served as senior adviser to former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, “Mojtaba is managing the country as though he is the director of the board.”
Davari told The New York Times, “He relies heavily on the advice and guidance of the board members, and they collectively make all the decisions. The generals are the board members.”
Khamenei, who was selected by a council of senior clerics as the new supreme leader, has been in hiding since US and Israeli forces bombed his father’s compound February 28, where he also lived with his family. His father, wife and son were all killed.
Four senior Iranian officials familiar with his health revealed Khamenei was gravely wounded, he is mentally sharp and engaged.
One leg was operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic. He had surgery on one hand and is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak, the officials said, adding that, eventually, he will need plastic surgery.
Khamenei has not recorded a video or audio message, the officials said, because he does not want to appear vulnerable or sound weak in his first public address. He has issued several written statements that have been posted online and read on state television.
Messages to him are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and relayed via a human chain from one trusted courier to the next, who travel on highways and back roads, in cars and on motorcycles until they reach his hideout. His guidance on issues snakes back the same way.
Access to him is extremely difficult and limited now. He is surrounded mostly by a team of doctors and medical staff who are treating the injuries he sustained in the airstrikes.
