Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is scheduled to meet with organizers of events on Wednesday in what appears to be an effort to show that he is still alive and in control of the country.
Iranian media reported the 81-year-old Khamenei was likely on his deathbed less than two weeks ago. Sources in the country confirmed “the duties and powers of the office of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been transferred to his son Mojtaba Khamenei, who oversees several security and intelligence departments in Iran.”
The news was posted on Twitter by an Iranian journalist, Mohamad Ahwaze, adding that those close to the Supreme Leader were “very afraid” for his health “this time.”
Health Deteriorating, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei Transfers Power to Son
Khamenei underwent prostate surgery six years ago. This time senior physicians from Masih Danchori Hospital were summoned to care for him, Ahwaze reported.
Wednesday’s meeting was ostensibly organized to mark the first anniversary of top Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani in a US combat drone attack carried out in Iraq.
But there has been no real update, good or bad, about the Supreme Leader’s condition since the report on December 5 and it appeared the Islamic Republic clamped down hard on any possible leaks since that time.
There is no way to independently confirm news of Khamenei’s health in either case. However, his demise would trigger a possible power struggle if he did indeed transfer power to his son.
It is the 82-member Assembly of Experts – a council of elected clerics – who makes the decision on who is to become the next Supreme Leader of Iran. The position is not inherited, nor is Iran a monarchy.
