Iran's new supreme leader unconscious and unable to govern

Iran's newly designated Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is unconscious and in a critical condition following the same American-Israeli airstrike that killed his father on February 28, the British newspaper The Times has reported.

Citing a diplomatic memo based on US and Israeli intelligence shared with Gulf allies, the paper paints a dire picture: Mojtaba Khamenei is described as "unable to participate in any decision-making operations within the regime" and "incapable of leading the country." He has not been seen or heard publicly since the strike, despite being formally designated to succeed his father in early March. Only written statements read aloud on state television have emerged in his name.

For the first time, the memo also reveals his location. Mojtaba Khamenei is reportedly receiving medical treatment in Qom, the holy Shia city 87 kilometres south-west of Tehran that serves as the seat of Iran's clerical establishment.

The same document discloses that the body of Ali Khamenei is being prepared for buria, also in Qom, where construction work on a large mausoleum with space for "more than one tomb" is already underway.

If confirmed, the intelligence assessment raises urgent questions about who is actually governing Iran at one of the most volatile moments in the country's modern history, and whether the regime can maintain coherent leadership under the pressure of an ongoing war.