Iran's new Supreme Leader reportedly needs plastic surgery after Israeli airstrikes left him severely disfigured
Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new Supreme Leader, has not appeared in public or released a single audio or video message since assuming power, and now a New York Times report explains why.The 56-year-old ayatollah's face and lips were severely burned in the February 28 Israeli airstrikes that killed his father, and he reportedly requires plastic surgery and a prosthetic leg before he can show himself to his own people, let alone the world.
The injuries are not cosmetic inconveniences. One of Khamenei's legs has been operated on three times and is expected to be replaced with a prosthetic, the New York Post reported. He reportedly struggles to speak.
Four Iranian officials told the Times that Khamenei does not want to appear vulnerable or sound weak, so instead, he has vanished from view entirely.
That vanishing act has real consequences. U.S.-Iran peace talks have stalled, and the White House says the reason is simple: nobody in Tehran can speak with authority for a regime whose leader communicates through handwritten messages ferried by couriers.
Read more about Mojtaba Khamenei
No comments:
Post a Comment