Reports surface that the Iranian leader has traveled to Moscow for medical treatment; what does the Kremlin say?

Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is believed to have been secretly taken to Moscow for medical treatment after being wounded on the first day of the war launched by the US and Israel. The Kremlin has been asked to comment on this information.

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Kuwaiti newspaper Al Jarida, citing a high-ranking source, reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s new Supreme Leader, was secretly taken to Moscow for medical treatment after being wounded on the first day of the US and Israeli air campaign against Iran.

The source said Khamenei was injured on February 28 – the day the US and Israeli military operation against Iran began – and required hospitalization and ongoing medical care. He has not appeared in public since the fighting began.

While Iranian state media attempts to project an image of stability, diplomatic leaks suggest the new leader may have been directly affected by the initial airstrikes.

Iran’s ambassador to Cyprus, Alireza Salarian, told The Guardian that Khamenei was injured in the February 28 airstrike that killed his father, the late leader Ali Khamenei.

“I heard he was injured in his leg, hand, and arm… I think he’s in hospital because of his injuries,” the ambassador said.

According to a CNN source, Khamenei suffered a fractured foot, bruising near his left eye, and several minor cuts on his face.

Tehran has not denied Khamenei’s injuries, but says his condition remains stable.

“He is injured, but he’s fine. I don’t know when he will give his first speech,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on March 12.

Meanwhile, on March 16, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov neither confirmed nor denied Kuwaiti media reports that Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had traveled to Moscow for treatment.

“We have no comment on such reports,” Peskov told reporters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asserted on March 15 that Khamenei was “completely healthy and in full control of the situation.” The 56-year-old leader has not appeared in public throughout the conflict, only issuing a written statement in which he vowed to “avenge the blood” of Iranians killed by the US and Israel.

Khamenei’s health condition may explain why he hasn’t appeared in public since being elected Supreme Leader by the Iranian Council of Clerics. His first official statement as Supreme Leader was only broadcast as a transcribed message read by a presenter, without audio or video of himself.

According to Al Jarida, Khamenei was secretly flown from Tehran to Moscow by Russian military aircraft.

Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly proposed his transfer to Russia for treatment during a phone call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. The Kremlin confirmed the two leaders spoke by phone on March 10th.

Also according to Al Jarida, after arriving in Moscow, Khamenei reportedly underwent surgery and is currently being treated at a high-security medical facility located on the grounds of a presidential residence.

The U.S. government has also publicly questioned the Iranian leader’s condition.

In a recent interview, President Donald Trump said he believed Khamenei was “seriously wounded,” suggesting he “may still be alive in some way.”

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that U.S. intelligence believes the Iranian leader is “wounded and potentially disfigured.”

These reports come amid ongoing U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran and its regional allies – the so-called “Axis of Resistance” – while Iran’s new Supreme Leader remains largely absent from public view.