Leg amputation, AI fakes and a Russian escape: Understanding Iran leader Mojtaba Khamenei's bizarre disappearance reports
Unable to put their heavily wounded leader on camera, Tehran resorted to desperate media tactics. Last week, Iranian state television heavily promoted what it claimed was Mojtaba's "first statement" since taking power.
1. The Diplomatic Confirmation of Airstrike Injuries
The Iranian regime's attempts to hide the new Supreme Leader's condition shattered when their own diplomats broke ranks. The Guardian published an on-the-record interview with Alireza Salarian, Iran’s ambassador to Cyprus. Salarian confirmed Mojtaba was caught in the deadly February 28 bombardment, stating: "I have heard that he was injured in his legs and hand and arm... I think he is in the hospital because he is injured."
2. The "Amputation and Coma" Hospital Leaks
The details of those injuries are reportedly catastrophic. According to a bombshell report by The Sun (syndicated globally by outlets like India Today), a source inside Tehran's Sina University Hospital leaked the grim reality of the trauma ward. The source explicitly stated: "One or two of his legs have been cut off. His liver or stomach has also ruptured. He is apparently in a coma as well."
3. The Faceless State Media Smokescreen
Unable to put their heavily wounded leader on camera, Tehran resorted to desperate media tactics. Last week, Iranian state television heavily promoted what it claimed was Mojtaba's "first statement" since taking power. However, the broadcast featured absolutely no audio or video of Khamenei himself; it was merely a written text read aloud by a news anchor, fuelling massive digital rumours and deepfake conspiracies that the regime is orchestrating an elaborate cover-up.
4. Washington's Verdict: "Likely Disfigured"
The White House and US military are actively weaponizing the Supreme Leader's absence. In a recent press briefing, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth publicly mocked the faceless broadcast, stating that Iran has plenty of cameras, yet chose not to use them. Hegseth explicitly declared that US intelligence assesses the new Iranian leader is "wounded and likely disfigured," adding that he is "scared... on the run, and lacks legitimacy."
5. The Secret Russian Military Extraction
Treating a critically wounded Supreme Leader in a hospital under active bombardment proved to be a fatal security risk. According to an explosive report broken by the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, Mojtaba Khamenei was secretly evacuated from Iran on Thursday, March 12. The report confirmed he was transported out of Iranian airspace directly to Moscow aboard a highly secure Russian military aircraft.
6. Sanctuary Inside Putin's Presidential Palace
The evacuation was a direct geopolitical maneuver by the Kremlin. Al-Jarida reports that the extraction was initiated after Russian President Vladimir Putin personally offered medical assistance during a direct phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. Mojtaba allegedly underwent a "successful" surgery by a joint Russian-Iranian medical team and is currently receiving care inside a private hospital located within a Russian presidential palace, effectively shielding him from further US strikes.
7. The "Ghost" Autopilot War Machine
The most terrifying aspect of Mojtaba's disappearance is who is left in charge. With the Supreme Leader allegedly recovering in Moscow, Iran's military is operating without a commander-in-chief. An Iranian analyst quoted by The Sun warned that Ali Khamenei "left behind a system which has kicked into gear which can be run by a ghost." The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is now operating autonomously, continuing to launch drones and missiles without centralized political oversight.
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