Mojtaba Khamenei was pulled from rubble after Tehran hospital strike, report says

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was pulled from the rubble of a Tehran hospital after it was hit in an Israeli and US strike, according to a report by the New York Post.

Mohsen Heydari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, made the claim in an interview with Qatari television network Al Araby on Thursday, the report said.

Heydari said Khamenei had been wounded and taken to hospital after earlier attacks, but the facility was subsequently targeted along with two other hospitals in Tehran.

“Even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed,” Heydari said, according to the New York Post. He added that Khamenei was at the third hospital and had to be pulled from the rubble.

The 56-year-old supreme leader was later moved to an undisclosed location and has not appeared in public or spoken publicly since. His condition has remained the subject of speculation following the strikes.

Secret vote followed attacks on Assembly of Experts

Heydari also provided details about the process that led to Khamenei’s selection as Iran’s supreme leader on March 8.

The Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for selecting the supreme leader, was itself affected by the strikes. According to the New York Post, its secretariat in Qom was bombed, killing eight people and destroying documents containing reports and recommendations linked to the leadership selection.

With the assembly under attack, members reportedly recorded their votes on paper before being taken to a secure location for the selection process.

Heydari said he was the first member to propose Mojtaba Khamenei’s name. He told Al Araby that members had received information indicating that Khamenei was healthy enough to lead and met the religious and leadership requirements for the position.

Khamenei reportedly secured 50 of the 59 votes cast. Eight members voted for Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, while one abstained.

Heydari said Khamenei apparently did not know he had been selected until the decision was announced on Iranian state television.

Questions remain over his condition

Heydari described Khamenei as a ‘man of the shadows’, saying he had not previously held a formal political position in the Iranian state. He had, however, reportedly served as an adviser to his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The New York Post also reported that questions remained over Mojtaba Khamenei’s condition, with US intelligence assessments reportedly suggesting he suffered severe facial injuries in the strikes.