New reports have emerged suggesting that Iran’s recently appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is currently unconscious and incapacitated, rendering him unable to participate in any state decision-making.

The 56-year-old cleric was reportedly wounded in the same US-Israeli airstrikes on 28 February that claimed the life of his father, Ali Khamenei. He is said to be receiving treatment for a severe medical condition in the holy city of Qom, marking the first time the leader’s specific location has been disclosed since the conflict began.

A diplomatic memo, cited by The Times and believed to be based on intelligence shared between American, Israeli, and Gulf agencies, indicates that the younger Khamenei’s condition is critical. This development comes as the body of his father, the elder Khamenei, is prepared for burial in Qom, a city 87 miles south of Tehran that serves as the spiritual heart of Shia clerical authority.

Intelligence suggests that preparations are underway for a large mausoleum designed to hold multiple graves, implying that other family members may eventually be interred alongside the late leader.

Speculation regarding Mojtaba Khamenei’s health has intensified due to the fact that he has neither been seen nor heard from in public since being chosen to succeed his father in early March.

Although several statements have been attributed to him on Iranian state television, none have featured a recording of his actual voice.

This lack of proof of life has bolstered claims that the regime is attempting to mask the severity of his injuries, which some reports suggest include a coma, a broken leg, and significant facial trauma.

In an apparent effort to project strength, Tehran recently released an AI-produced video depicting the leader walking into a war room to analyse maps of Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility. However, this digital fabrication has done little to quash rumours of his instability.

Iran has already confirmed that the younger Khamenei was wounded in the strikes that also killed his mother, his wife Zahra Haddad-Adel, and one of his sons on the opening day of a war that has now gripped the Middle East for over five weeks.

While Iranian officials maintain that the new Supreme Leader remains firmly in charge of the country’s affairs, the reported intelligence paints a picture of a regime in a state of suspended animation.

The possibility that Mojtaba may himself be buried in the new mausoleum suggests that the succession crisis may be far from resolved. Currently, neither Washington nor Tehran has issued an official statement regarding the specific claims of his unconscious state.

Agencies