By Jason Cowhick
Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, may be gay, according to intel reportedly briefed to President Donald Trump last week.
Trump and several intelligence officials reportedly laughed after being briefed on the allegation, including one senior official who “has not stopped laughing about it for days.” Despite the reaction, U.S. intelligence sources believe the claim is credible, the New York Post reported Monday. One source told the Post the claim comes from “one of the most protected sources that the government has.”
Mojtaba had a “long-term sexual relationship” with a former tutor and made “aggressive” sexual advances to men taking care of him, sources told the Post. A 2008 U.S. diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks was included in the report, which stated that the new Ayatollah married “late in life” and underwent two years of medical treatment in the United Kingdom for “an impotency problem.” The late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei suspected his son was gay and feared it could corrupt and undermine his leadership of the Islamic Republic, where homasexual conduct is illegal, the Post wrote.
A man holds a picture of Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (R) being handed over a folded Iranian flag by his late father Ali Khamenei (L), during a rally in support of him at Enghelab Square in central Tehran on March 9, 2026. (Photo by Atta Kenare / AFP via Getty Images)
Mojtaba succeeded his father as the Islamic Republic’s Supreme Leader on March 8. Trump previously called the new Ayatollah “lightweight” in a phone interview with Axios, saying he was “unacceptable.”
The supreme leader was strangely absent from his own inaugural address, releasing a written statement instead of appearing on camera. The president later doubted whether Mojtaba was still alive, saying, “So far, nobody’s been able to show him.” (RELATED: Trump Says Iran’s New Leader Might Already Be Dead)
Mojtaba was reportedly injured on the first day of Operation Epic Fury, which killed his wife, mother, and sister alongside his father. The supreme leader received a fractured foot, bruises, and cuts to the face, CNN reported, citing anonymous sources. Other unverified reports have claimed that Mojtaba has lost at least one leg and is in a coma, while additional reports claim the supreme leader is receiving medical care in Russia.
