Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei
Reports from the U.S. intelligence community allege that Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, may be gay.
The 56-year-old, who officially succeeded his father, the late Ali Khamenei, on March 8, 2026, is reportedly the subject of high-level classified briefings. According to reports from the New York Post and CBS News, the intelligence is considered “highly credible” and suggests a long-term relationship with a former family associate.
The claims expose a staggering irony, as the Iranian regime continues to enforce capital punishment for same-sex acts.
Intelligence suggests the late Ali Khamenei may have been aware of these “personal issues,” contributing to his historical hesitation in naming Mojtaba his successor.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since his appointment, following reports that he was wounded in the February 28 airstrikes that killed his father. While the regime projects a front of military defiance, these allegations threaten to undermine his moral authority among hardliners and fuel domestic dissent.
LGBTQ+ organizations have been quick to label the new leader a “privileged hypocrite.” Activists argue that having a gay man at the helm of an anti-gay regime is not a breakthrough, but a betrayal.
“A man who signs death warrants for queer people while living that same life behind palace walls is not a member of our community,” stated one human rights advocate. “He is the face of the system that murders us.”
