Amid rumors over his health, Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, met with Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The 85-year-old Khamenei was reportedly in a coma and had privately designated his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as his heir. The allegations came after “The New York Times” reported in October that Khamenei was “seriously ill.”
With the caption, however, “Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, met and talked with Mr. Mojtaba Amani, the veteran ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Lebanon, at noon today, on the sidelines of his daily meetings,” the Iranian supreme leader posted a picture of himself and the Iranian ambassador to Lebanon on his official X (formerly Twitter) account on Sunday.
According to an official statement, Amani, who was hurt in the September bombing in Lebanon that left 39 people dead and almost 3,000 injured, told Khamenei about his recuperation and present health condition. Although specifics are still up for debate, Iran and Hezbollah blamed Israel for the blast.
This occurred after Iran’s missile strikes on Israel’s vital infrastructure prompted Khamenei to deliver his first sermon in five years on October 5. Speaking to a gathering in Tehran, Khamenei reiterated his support for the resistance groups in Palestine and Lebanon by saying, “Israel won’t last long.”
In the rare speech, Khamenei also affirmed Iran’s support for Hamas and Hezbollah and defended the missile strikes as a “public service.” Speaking to tens of thousands of followers at a Tehran mosque, Khamenei brandished a gun and declared, “Israel will not prevail against Hamas or Hezbollah.”
Both Hamas and Hezbollah, which are presently fighting Israeli forces on the southern and northern fronts, have maintained close connections with Iran.
According to LEADERSHIP, Khamenei has been in power since 1989.
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