Kremlin Silent on Khamenei's Moscow Treatment Claims

The Kremlin has refused to confirm or deny reports that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is recovering at a medical facility in the Russian capital after being wounded in recent US-Israeli strikes. Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the Kremlin “never comments on such reports” when asked about claims that Khamenei had been transferred to Moscow for treatment. The lack of an official Russian statement has fuelled speculation across regional and international media about both his condition and his exact whereabouts.

The latest wave of reports originated from Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Jarida, which claimed that the 56-year-old leader was secretly flown to Russia on a military aircraft as part of a highly classified operation. According to these accounts, Khamenei was injured during the strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on 28 February, and subsequently underwent surgery in a private medical facility linked to one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences. Some reports further suggest he is being treated by a combined team of Russian and Iranian doctors and is in the recovery phase, though none of these details have been independently verified.​

Iranian and Western media have carried conflicting narratives about Khamenei’s health, ranging from claims that he is in a coma and has undergone amputations to assertions from Iranian officials that he is “feeling well” despite being wounded. Earlier accounts placed him in intensive care at Tehran’s Sina University Hospital under the supervision of Iran’s health minister, adding to the uncertainty over whether and when he was moved abroad. The absence of clear official medical bulletins from Tehran has allowed unverified claims to circulate widely on social media and in foreign press outlets.

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Mojtaba Khamenei was announced as Iran’s new Supreme Leader by the Assembly of Experts on 9 March, following the assassination of his father in a joint US-Israeli strike amid the ongoing Iran war. At 56, he had long been seen as a powerful figure within Iran’s security and clerical networks and emerged as the establishment’s preferred choice to ensure continuity at the top of the Islamic Republic. His reported injury and possible treatment abroad come at a moment when Iran is embroiled in open conflict and faces intense external pressure, making questions over his health particularly sensitive.​

Reports citing unnamed sources claim that President Putin personally offered to host and treat Khamenei during a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, positioning Moscow as a key guarantor of the new leader’s security. Such a move, if confirmed, would underscore the deepening strategic partnership between Russia and Iran, which has expanded in military and economic domains in recent years. For now, however, both the Kremlin and Iranian authorities have avoided providing detailed information, leaving the international community reliant on second-hand leaks and uncorroborated media reports about Khamenei’s condition in Moscow.

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