Headline Roundup • March 16th, 2026
Mixed Reports Emerge on the State of Iranian Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's Health
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Mixed reporting has emerged in recent days regarding the physical health of Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, with a recent report from Kuwaiti media saying he is in Russia to receive leg surgery.
For Context: Khamenei, the son of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was named Iran's leader on March 9. He was reportedly injured in the US-Israeli strikes on the country and has not appeared publicly since. A video spread virally online showing Iranians presenting a cardboard cutout of Khamenei at a ceremony, though fact checker Lead Stories (Lean Left) has assessed it as fake.
Admin Statements: On March 13, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Khamenei was "wounded and likely disfigured," though he did not elaborate further. The same day, President Trump said he thinks Khamenei is "damaged" but "probably alive in some form."
'In a Coma': A day earlier, on March 12, UK tabloid The Sun (Center bias) said "sources" in Iran told it Khamenei was "in a coma," had "lost at least one leg," and that his "liver or stomach" ruptured.
In Moscow: On March 15, Kuwaiti outlet Al-Jarida reported that a "high-ranking source close to" Khamenei said he is in Russia at one of President Putin's palaces, where he underwent a "successful" surgery. The surgery was reportedly offered by Putin himself, and Khamenei was reportedly picked up by a Russian aircraft.
How The Media Covered It: Major outlets have treated recent reports about Khamenei's health with caution. Hegseth's comments were picked up by many mainstream outlets. The Sun and Al-Jarida's reports were primarily picked up by some international outlets and tabloids.
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is "wounded and likely disfigured."
Why it matters: Hegseth's claim was the first official statement by the Trump administration about Khamenei's health since he was named the country's leader.
"Iran's leadership is in no better shape. Desperate and hiding they have gone underground, cowering. That's what rats do. We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured," Hegseth told reporters at a briefing.
AP Photo
Iran's new Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared publicly since his appointment by the Assembly of Experts, fuelling uncertainty about his health and whereabouts following the attack that killed his father.
Initial reports suggested Mojtaba Khamenei had been killed alongside his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran last Saturday.
However, it emerged that while his mother, father, wife and possibly other family members all died in the strike, he survived.
Speculation has been mounting over the whereabouts of Iran's injured new Supreme Leader with Kuwaiti media claiming he has been rushed to Moscow for emergency leg surgery.
Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following his assassination on February 28, but a string of reports have said he has been in a coma following an airstrike with some observers, including President Donald Trump, suggesting he is dead.
Khamenei is apparently unaware both that there is a war on and that he is the country's new leader.
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