US intelligence agencies hold information indicating that Mojtaba Khamenei is gay – a fact his father, the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was aware of and that fueled deep doubts about his son's fitness to lead Iran, the New York Post reported Monday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Sources close to the White House said President Donald Trump reacted with shock and laughter when the intelligence was presented to him during a briefing. An intelligence community official noted that the information is considered especially credible and was derived from "one of the administration's most protected sources."
The fact that the intelligence reached the highest levels of government reflects the confidence spy agencies have in its reliability and ruled out the possibility that it was purely a psychological warfare operation.
According to the information, Mojtaba (56), who was appointed to succeed his father on March 8 following his assassination, had long-term relationships with men in his inner circle dating back to his youth.
Similar reports about "problems in the heir's personal life" had previously appeared on CBS, which claimed that his father had preferred other successors – such as former President Ebrahim Raisi – because of those same unexplained issues. Some details in the intelligence file are corroborated by previously published documents. A classified diplomatic cable from 2008 released by WikiLeaks revealed that Mojtaba had been treated in Britain for fertility and sexual dysfunction issues and that several lengthy hospital visits to London were required before he and his wife were able to have children.
In Iran, where same-sex relations are a serious criminal offense that can carry the death penalty, this information is considered especially sensitive and volatile. "His father and others suspected this, and there were parties who tried to spread this information to prevent his rise to power," one source explained.
The new leader's condition and whereabouts remain a mystery. According to reports, Mojtaba was wounded in the February 28 airstrike that killed his father, his wife, and his eldest son. Sources claim that while under heavy sedation during his recovery, he made advances toward the men caring for him that were interpreted as sexual in nature.
