An audio recording published by British newspaper The Telegraph reveals that Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s current supreme leader, escaped death by mere seconds during the US and Israeli strikes of February 28, which hit the Iranian leadership’s residential complex in Tehran and killed his father Ali Khamenei and several senior regime officials.
According to the recording, attributed to Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol at Ali Khamenei’s office, Mojtaba had stepped briefly into the garden when Israeli ballistic missiles struck his residence. The attack occurred at 09:32 local time and simultaneously targeted several areas of the complex in an operation described as intended to eliminate the entire Khamenei family.
Although he suffered only a minor leg wound, Mojtaba Khamenei lost his wife and son, who were killed immediately on impact. His brother-in-law was decapitated and Khamenei’s military office chief Mohammad Shirazi died violently, with his body left virtually unrecognisable, according to the same account.
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The audio, whose authenticity was reportedly independently verified, indicates the attack also killed several other top regime figures, including military officials gathered at the site at the time of the bombardment. The facilities struck included Ali Khamenei’s residence, a religious hall and the homes of other family members.
Since the attack and his subsequent appointment as new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei has made no public appearance. His only known message was transmitted in writing through state television, fuelling speculation about his actual physical condition. US president Donald Trump said he does not even know “if he is alive.”
The disclosure comes amid intense instability in Iran and internal opposition to the hereditary nature of the succession, criticised by several regime figures as contrary to the principles of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
