Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have transferred power to his son amid concerns over his declining health, Iranian journalist Momahad Ahwaze reported Saturday.
The Newsweek outlet cited an Iranian journalist as saying that the supreme leader required urgent medical assistance. Khamenei's deteriorating health has also reportedly seen the supreme leader cancel some important meetings, such as a recently scheduled meeting with President Hassan Rouhani.
Taking to Twitter, Ahwaze wrote in Arabic that sources in Iran were concerned regarding the 81-year-old leader's health, and those close to him are reportedly "very concerned" over his deteriorating condition.
As such, his powers have reportedly been transferred to his 51-year-old son, Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, who currently oversees several important security and intelligence departments in the country.
Mojtaba, the potential successor?
European sources have pegged Mojtaba as a potential successor to the supreme leader's position for over 10 years, and British news outlet The Guardian even dubbed him "the gatekeeper to Iran's supreme leader" in a 2009 article.
Ahwaze noted that it is unclear what has caused such deterioration in the supreme leader's condition overnight, though he did suspect it could be prostate cancer.
