Assembly of Experts member Mohsen Heydari makes claim about Supreme Leader’s injuries and succession in Al Araby interview

Tehran, Sept 2026 : Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was “pulled from the rubble” of a Tehran hospital after the facility was hit during US-Israeli strikes earlier this year, Iranian cleric and Assembly of Experts member Mohsen Heydari has claimed

Heydari made the claim during an interview with Qatari television network Al Araby on Thursday. His account was subsequently reported by the New York Post. The claim about the hospital strike and Khamenei’s rescue could not be independently verified

According to Heydari, Mojtaba Khamenei had already been wounded and taken to a hospital when further strikes hit medical facilities in Tehran

“Even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed,” Heydari said, according to reports of the interview. “Mojtaba Khamenei was in the third hospital and was pulled from the rubble,” he added

The account adds to continuing uncertainty over Khamenei’s condition and whereabouts. He has largely remained out of public view since becoming Iran’s Supreme Leader on March 8, after the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the February 28 strikes. Independent reporting has confirmed his selection by the Assembly of Experts, but details of his subsequent health have remained difficult to establish

Heydari also described the circumstances surrounding Mojtaba Khamenei’s selection as Supreme Leader. He said Mojtaba apparently did not know that the Assembly had chosen him until the decision was announced on Iranian state television

The Assembly of Experts, which is constitutionally responsible for selecting Iran’s Supreme Leader, was itself affected during the strikes. Heydari said the body’s secretariat in Qom was bombed, killing eight people and destroying documents and recommendations linked to the succession process. Iran’s Assembly of Experts separately confirmed that its secretariat offices had been bombed and that several employees and members of its security team were killed

Heydari said members subsequently recorded their votes on paper before being summoned to a secure room for the selection process. He recalled being the first member to propose Mojtaba Khamenei’s name