Iran has responded to claims on social media that its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is close to death or in a coma by publishing a photo of him meeting a Lebanese official.

The photo on, in Tehran.

Its publication followed tweets claiming Khamenei was in a coma or dead, which broke out on November 16.

Just a day earlier, on November 15, Iran International had reported discussions by the National Assembly of Experts on candidates in the running to succeed him, including Khamenei’s son Mojtaba Khamenei. But the need to identify a successor stemmed from the risk of assassination the supreme leader faced, and not because of ill health, the report said.

Newsweek contacted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran via email for comment.

If the photo, published on Khamenei’s

One user, Dr. Maalouf, a geopolitical commentator, wrote on November 16: “BREAKING- Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly fallen into a coma and DIED. Good riddance! Iran will soon be free!”

The Global 202, which lists itself as a news and media account, posted the following on November 17: “BREAKING Dramatic reports in Iran: Iran’s 85-year-old leader Ali Khamenei fell into a coma. His condition is critical.” There is no website listed on the account and no item is linked.

Another user, JN Aravain, who calls himself a crusader for human rights, wrote on November 17: “Rumors are circulating that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is in a coma. Previous reports pointed to his serious illness, and now there are whispers that his second son, Mojtaba could succeed him. Isn’t it ironic how a theocracy, which is supposed to be ruled by divine will, resorts to what seems like family matters? #NepotismAtItsFinest #ReligionOrDynasty.”

But some . have been spinning for over a decade – he has been in a ‘coma’ several times over the years. Just another regime soap opera.”

The New York Times had previously written about the Iranian Supreme Leader’s alleged ill health in an article published on October 26, but later corrected this, writing that there are no recent reports indicating Khamenei is ill.

Iran’s Supreme Leader has three candidates in the race to become his successor, with his son in the lead, according to Iran International’s report from the Assembly of Experts meeting, which said Khamenei is in good health and shows no signs of illness.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, also denounced the coma claims in a post on my timeline. is not one credible news channel that reports as such.

“So be careful what you post.”

Mojtaba Khamenei, 55, has reportedly been involved in behind-the-scenes government decision-making for nearly three decades, and former State Department adviser on Iran Gabriel Noronha previously reported on X the significance of his possible appointment.

Noronha noted that reports of the younger Khamenei’s possible succession followed the death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash in May, and that “he shares his father’s ideological vision, but the decisions he makes about foreign policy, on nuclear armament and how a path on social and religious issues will have enormous consequences as to whether the regime survives.”

Noronha also told it before Newsweek: “Mojtaba has already begun to take over some of his father’s less important duties as Supreme Leader. Most importantly, he has been very close to the IRGC and the so-called revolutionary forces in the regime, which pull many of the strings and seek perpetual displays of power. confrontation with the West.”

“He had built networks of influence with the powerful cadres, and especially with members of the Assembly of Experts, the 88-member body charged with selecting the next Supreme Leader.”

The younger Khamenei is also reportedly known for suppressing protests after the 2009 elections, and he was given the title of ayatollah in 2021, according to the Economic Times.

The other potential candidates include Alireza Arafi, the second vice-president of the Assembly of Experts in addition to other duties, and Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, the first vice-president of the Assembly of Experts. Arafi is reportedly a confidant of Iran’s Supreme Leader, while Bushehri also has ties to Khamenei.