IranWire reports Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in critical condition, possibly near death

IranWire report on Mojtaba Khamenei's health

Two anonymous sources close to the administration of President Masoud Pezeshkian told IranWire, a London-based news site working with Iranian diaspora journalists and internal collaborators, that rumors are circulating insistently at the highest levels of the regime that Mojtaba Khamenei is in extremely critical condition and could die at any moment. One source described his physical condition as precarious and said they would not be surprised to learn soon of the news of his martyrdom. Mojtaba Khamenei has not met any member of the government since the US attack on the Supreme Leader's compound on February 28, which killed his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei along with other family members.

A leader never seen or heard

Since assuming leadership of the country, Mojtaba Khamenei has never appeared in public or delivered speeches. The only communications attributed to him are several letters published by official news agencies. His face appears on billboards across Tehran, the sole images of a supreme leader who has never been seen in person or heard in voice since February 28, the first day of the Israeli-American war against Iran. This total public absence has fueled speculation about his health and even his survival. Some sources report he was wounded in the attacks, disfigured, and hidden in a secret location, communicating with other senior regime officials through a slow network of intermediaries. Others believe the written messages broadcast on state television, the only method Mojtaba has used to address the population, may actually be the work of others, possibly the pasdaran (IRGC).

President Pezeshkian himself acknowledged the difficulty in an interview broadcast Wednesday on state television, stating that interaction with Khamenei is now "very difficult."

Hormuz negotiations and Gulf ultimatum

Negotiations on the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman are in their final stages, with Tehran awaiting Khamenei's go-ahead for an agreement on shipping routes and rules. The uncertainty over the Supreme Leader's condition comes as Iran has issued an explicit ultimatum to US-allied Gulf states: if Washington strikes Iranian infrastructure again, Tehran will respond by devastating energy, water, electrical sites and transport nodes of Arab countries that fail to convince Donald Trump to halt military operations and reopen the negotiation channel. The move follows a July 28 White House warning that envisioned targeted raids against Iran's energy sector. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi has contacted counterparts in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, as well as Pakistani military leaders, to urge them to persuade the American presidency.

Market impact and succession questions

The Middle East crisis has sent oil prices back up to $83 per barrel. The unconfirmed reports of Mojtaba's grave condition have reopened the succession question in Tehran, where power balances among the pasdaran, the clergy and Iranian institutions will determine who could replace him. If the IranWire report proves accurate, a second political battle would open in the halls of Tehran's government, with no clear single fulcrum of power to manage the transition.