Ayatollah Seyyid Mostafa Hosseini, a member of the Assembly of Experts, Iran's highest religious-political body, explained why Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has not made video addresses. According to Ettelaat citing Khabaronline, Hosseini said: "He now has complete good health; all the wounds he suffered have been treated. He is completely strong and healthy."
According to the report, Hosseini attributed Khamenei's lack of public video appearances to security concerns: "The Security Council does not consider it appropriate for him to speak openly. One of today's world's problems is technologies like GPS and artificial intelligence; these create new security issues. If a sample of his voice falls into others' hands, they can recognize his voice anywhere in the world, even while speaking on the phone." Hosseini added: "Protecting their own life is actually related to the entirety of the nation and the country's security. They wish to be among the people and speak with them, but they put the public interest and order ahead of their personal wishes. For this reason, they have not made a direct and official statement thus far."
According to the report from Donya-ye Eghtesad, which also covered this statement, Hosseini described the written statements as "profound in literary terms and appropriate in content" and characterized Khamenei's approach as "prudent and wise." Hosseini also recounted a personal visit to Khamenei's office: sitting on a simple carpet while conversing, being allowed to go first for prayer time, and then Khamenei himself laying out the table and serving food, after which they ate together; "His life is very simple and ordinary," he said.
Hosseini's reference to "wounds" constitutes official confirmation from an authorized source of previously unverified claims that the Supreme Leader was injured during the war. However, the statement contains no details about when, how, or in what event the wound occurred; it has not been independently verified by medical or official sources. Therefore, the nature and extent of the wound should be considered unconfirmed.
How the Persian press covered it
| Source (orientation) | Headline / framing |
|---|---|
| Ettelaat (moderate-traditionalist) | Placed "Supreme Leader's wounds" in the headline, emphasizing the security justification. |
| Donya-ye Eghtesad (economic daily, technocratic) | Framed as "Supreme Leader's latest health condition," also including a personal anecdote. |
Context
The Supreme Leader, Iran's highest office, has made very few public video addresses during the ongoing war with the U.S. and Israel; this situation has sparked speculation among commentators for months about his health. The Assembly of Experts, constitutionally empowered to select the Supreme Leader and remove him from office if necessary, giving a statement on this matter by one of its members constitutes the first direct official response. The Assembly had also called last week for strict enforcement of hijab rules and for military-diplomatic readiness against US threats (related article). Hosseini's justification of GPS and AI-enabled voice recognition reflects Iranian officials' heightened security concerns about targeting high-level officials during wartime; this concern is also linked to the targeting of various commanders and officials throughout the war.
