Claim: Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is in a coma and close to death. Some speculate that he has died.
Fact: Iran has denied these reports and stated that the Ayatollah has not been ill recently nor has he passed away.
On 16th November 2024, a user on X (formerly Twitter) posted an image (archive) of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The post is captioned,
“BREAKING
The supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly fallen into a coma and DIED. Good riddance!
Iran will soon be free!”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check conducted multiple keyword searches concerning the Ayatollah suffering ill health, falling into a coma, or dying. We found reports from multiple outlets confirming the claim that Khamenei was seriously ill or in a coma including The Jerusalem Post, The Economic Times, Mint, The Jewish Press, and Republic World.
However soon after the claim went viral the State of Iran disputed it by publishing photos on the Ayatollah’s official X account of his meeting Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon Mojtaba Amani. In the photos, the Supreme Leader looks healthy while standing and shaking hands with the ambassador. The post was captioned. “ This afternoon, Sunday, November 17, 2024; Meeting and discussion with Mr. Mojtaba Amani, veteran ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Lebanon.” Multiple news outlets confirmed the Ayatollah’s repudiation of the rumours such as The Times of Israel and Newsweek.
The Ayatollah has been in the news several times since rumours began to circulate with his latest sermon on the crisis in Syria, as reported by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, drawing attention.
Virality
Soch Fact Check found the claim on X here, here, and here.
Conclusion: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei is not seriously ill in a coma nor has he passed away.
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