Full Breakdown
Mojtaba Khamenei Pulled from Hospital Rubble and Named Iran’s New Supreme Leader
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The Hospital Bombings and Rescue
In the weeks following the February strikes that targeted Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s Tehran compound, three Tehran hospitals were hit. Mohsen Heydari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, told Qatari television that “even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed.” Heydari said the younger Khamenei, then 56, was in a third hospital and was “pulled from the rubble” on March 8, the day the announcement of his appointment was broadcast on state TV.
Selection of a New Supreme Leader
After the attacks, the Assembly of Experts convened in a secret location to vote on a successor. The final tally gave Mojtaba Khamenei 50 of 59 votes, with eight votes for Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and one abstention.
Official Statements on Health and Leadership
U.S. Iranian President Masoud Peze shkian, speaking on Fox News, asserted that the supreme leader was “completely healthy” and described a seven-hour meeting between the two Iranian leaders in New York during the UN General Assembly.
Data & Statistics on the Vote
- Total Assembly members voting: 59
- Votes for Mojtaba Khamenei: 50
- Votes for Ayatollah Alireza Arafi: 8
- Abstentions: 1
Verbatim Quotes
- “Even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed,” — Mohsen Heydari, member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts
- “Given the enemy’s position, we will choose and elect no one as leader and supreme guide of the Islamic Republic except Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei,” — Mohsen Heydari, member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts