Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in good health, Iran FM says

The health of Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is good, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Al Araby Al Jadeed, APA reports.

“Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in good health and fully controls the situation in the Islamic Republic,” Abbas Araghchi noted.

The development comes after US President Donald Trump stated that he is ‘hearing’ Iran’s new supreme leader is ‘not alive’ as the United States and Israel continue to blast the country.

Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen to step up and take his father’s place in Iran, following Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s assassination at the start of the conflict. 
However, the replacement leader has yet to make a public appearance amid threats over his life.

Meanwhile, Israel has repeatedly threatened to kill Khamenei, like his father, which could be why his whereabouts are unknown.

The Israeli defence minister declared that ‘every leader’ appointed to lead the regime ‘will be an unequivocal target for elimination’.

On the other hand, it has been rumoured that the new leader was seriously injured in the same blast that killed his father.

On Thursday, Iranian state media published a written statement from Khamenei to declare his determination for vengeance, though he notably did not deliver it himself.  It read: ‘I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs.’

The rumours of his injuries have stretched from a fractured foot to a lost leg, with some even speculating that he is in a coma. 

- Agencies