Mojtaba survived US strikes on Tehran twice, was pulled from rubble: Cleric

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei survived a second round of US strikes on Tehran after being wounded in the initial attacks that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28, according to an Iranian cleric. Mojtaba, 56, has not been seen in public since the US-Iran war erupted, fuelling speculation about his health and whereabouts.Mohsen Heydari, a member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, said Mojtaba was taken to a hospital in Tehran after the strikes but was caught in another attack when the medical facility was bombed. He was later pulled from the rubble, Heydari said in an interview with Qatari television network Al Araby.“Even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed. Mojtaba Khamenei was in the third hospital and was pulled from the rubble,” Heydari said.In an exclusive interview with India Today TV on September 12, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Mojtaba is alive and remains in charge. He said the secrecy surrounding the Supreme Leader's whereabouts was necessary because US and Israeli forces had targeted Iran's senior leaders and commanders. Pezeshkian's remarks came in response to US President Donald Trump, who had said that Mojtaba was not dead, but was "seriously wounded"."I don't think he's dead. He was very seriously wounded. The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing. He was very seriously wounded. But I don't think he's dead," Trump told conservative radio host Glenn Beck in August. Meanwhile, cleric Heydari said the Assembly of Experts had received information that Mojtaba was healthy and capable of leading Iran when it selected him.Describing Mojtaba as a “man of the shadows”, Heydari said the younger Khamenei had not held a formal political position before becoming the Supreme Leader. Mojtaba earlier served as an adviser to his father.MOJTABA'S SELECTION AS SUPREME LEADERMojtaba was named Iran's Supreme Leader on March 8, 10 days after his father's death. The Assembly of Experts, which is responsible for selecting the country's Supreme Leader, held a secret meeting under heightened security to choose Ali Khamenei's successor.Heydari said the Assembly's Qom secretariat had also been targeted in US strikes, killing eight people and destroying documents related to the succession process.He said members later wrote their votes on paper before being summoned to a secret meeting without being told its location or purpose in advance.Heydari said he was the first to propose Mojtaba's name and that the Assembly determined he met the religious and leadership requirements.According to Heydari, Mojtaba received 50 of the 59 votes cast. Eight members voted for Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, while one abstained.The latest account by Heydari offers a rare glimpse into Mojtaba's movements following the strikes, but his current whereabouts and health remain unclear. Mojtaba's prolonged absence from public view has continued to fuel speculation, despite conflicting claims from Iranian and US officials.- Ends