The new supreme leader Khamenei II would be “unconscious” since the bombing that killed his father: who is in charge in Iran?

According to the latest report from allied intelligence cited by the British newspaper The TimesJamenei He would be “unconscious” and “in serious condition”receiving medical care in the city of Qom, the main religious center of Iranian Shiism and pillar of control of the Islamic Republic located south of Tehran. This is the first time that the place where the leader of the ayatollahs was taken after being injured has been specified.

The memo, based on intelligence data from the US and Israel and which has been shared with the countries of the Persian Gulf, suggests that the son of Ali Jameneidespite having been chosen as his successor by the clerics of the Assembly of Experts, is not qualified to lead the Persian country.

“Mojtaba Khamenei, in serious condition, is being treated in Qom and cannot participate in the decision-making of the regime“, reads the report, according to The Times. In recent weeks, analysts have highlighted the open division in Iranian power: while politicians are opting to end the war through negotiation, the leaders of the Revolutionary Guard insist on continuing to attack US targets, Israeli territory and critical infrastructure throughout the region.

In Qom, considered the religious and cultural capital of Iran, preparations are also being carried out for the burial of Ali Khamenei, who died in a bombing in Tehran along with other senior leaders and military officials. According to the intelligence report, they have begun build a large mausoleum “for more than one tomb”suggesting that the remains of other family members could be deposited inside.

Iran has confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was wounded in the attack that killed his father, mother and brother on February 28. Since then no image of him has been seen and he has only expressed himself through messages read on Iranian state television or published on his social media accounts, opened after his appointment as supreme leader.

Some information had previously indicated that the Ayatollah I would be in a coma and that he would have suffered injuries to several limbs and the face, but the Islamic Republic has not offered details in this regard. As supreme leader, he represents absolute political and religious power in Iran, so his absence creates a vacuum that, according to some analyses, would have been occupied by the Revolutionary Guard.

Daniel Bashandeh, a Spanish-Iranian geopolitical analyst, explained to this newspaper a few days ago that “it is not the leader himself that is the key; it is the military” who really rule in Iran. “The military wing, the Pasdaran, has prioritized the continuity of Khamenei’s legacy to maintain cohesion and confront the war of resistance.”