New details have been revealed about how Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, survived an Israeli missile attack on Tehran.
Modern.az reports that this was stated in a report by “The Telegraph”.
The report noted that Mojtaba Khamenei survived because he left the location where his father, Ali Khamenei, was, a few minutes before the Israeli airstrike.
This was mentioned in a statement by Mazahir Hosseini, head of protocol for the Iranian President's Office, to high-ranking commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The details became known as a result of the leak of an audio recording of that statement.
Mojtaba, along with his wife and son, was in the same residential complex as his father.
According to M. Hosseini, on the morning of February 28, some time before the attack, Mojtaba went out into the courtyard and was outside when the explosion occurred. "He went out into the courtyard to do something... When the missile hit the building, he was trying to return to the building from outside and go up to the upper floor," the head of protocol stated.
According to Hosseini, Mojtaba sustained a "minor leg injury" as a result of the explosion, and the attack was carried out in a coordinated manner: strikes hit several locations in the office complex simultaneously and most likely aimed to kill the entire Khamenei family.
The article in “The Telegraph” noted that the audio recording was leaked amidst questions about the severity of the new leader's injuries and his ability to lead the country. Khamenei has not appeared in public since the war began and gave his first statement in writing within two weeks.
According to US Secretary of Defense Pit Hegset, Mojtaba was "injured and most likely disfigured" in the explosion.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi responded by stating that the new Supreme Leader is healthy and fully in control of the situation.
The US has offered a reward of up to $10 million for accurate information about him.
