According to leaked audio by Mazaher Hosseini, former chief of protocol in Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s office, newly appointed Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was with his family in the leadership compound on the morning of February 28 when the US-Israeli strike began.
Just before Blue Sparrow’s powerful ballistic missiles hit the compound at around 9am (local time), he came outside and said he was going to “do something”. Moments later, rockets struck and destroyed the bunker-like residence where senior officials were gathered.
Because he left the building seconds earlier, he narrowly avoided being killed, although his wife and son were among those who died in the attack. But Mojtaba only had a “slight leg injury”, Hosseini said.
“It was God’s will that Mojtaba had to go out into the yard to do something and then come back,” Hosseini said in a recording published by the Telegraph, adding: “He was outside and heading up when they hit the building with a rocket,” noting that Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, was killed instantly.
The aim of the attacks appeared to be to eliminate Khamenei’s entire family, Hosseini said.
After the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the opening strikes of the conflict, Tehran announced that his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, would succeed him. Last week, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said the new leader was reportedly injured in the attack and had not appeared in public.
Trump on the existence of Mojtaba, deal with Iran
Meanwhile, on Monday, US President Donald Trump noted that it remains uncertain whether Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is still alive, citing reports of his injuries in an airstrike.
“We don’t know… if he’s dead or not. I will say that nobody has seen him, which is unusual,” he said during an event at the White House, according to Reuters.
Trump mentioned, “A lot of people say he’s badly disfigured. They say he’s lost a leg … and he’s been very badly injured. Other people say he’s dead.”
Trump has said he is not ready to negotiate an end to the war with Iran, even as Israel launched a new round of attacks on Sunday and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vowed to target Israel’s leader.
In an interview with NBC News, Trump said he believed Tehran might be willing to negotiate, but Washington would continue to push for more favorable terms. He also hinted that US forces could attack Iran’s Kharg Island oil hub again, noting that it could be “just for fun”.
More than two weeks into the US-Israel conflict against Iran, tensions remain high, with neither side softening their rhetoric despite mounting casualties and the economic impact of soaring oil prices, driven by the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
