Iran’s supreme chief Mojtaba Khamenei is reportedly unconscious and receiving pressing medical therapy in metropolis of Qom, elevating critical doubts over who is definitely working the nation amid an escalating battle with the US and Israel.In keeping with a diplomatic memo seen by The Occasions, and primarily based on US and Israeli intelligence assessments, the 56-year-old cleric is in a “extreme” situation and “unable to be concerned in any resolution making by the regime”. The memo marks the primary time his location has been disclosed publicly, putting him in Qom, Iran’s spiritual centre. The report provides that intelligence companies had recognized of his whereabouts for a while however had not beforehand revealed it.Iran has acknowledged that Khamenei was wounded in the identical airstrike that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, together with a number of shut members of the family on February 28. Nonetheless, officers insist he stays “in cost” of the nation, regardless of his full absence from public view because the battle started. No verified video or audio of him has emerged, with solely written statements learn out on state tv and an AI-generated clip launched in current days.The dearth of direct communication has fuelled hypothesis that the chief could also be incapacitated, with opposition teams claiming he’s in a coma. Different unverified stories counsel he suffered critical accidents, together with fractures and facial wounds. His situation has solid uncertainty over the chain of command in Iran, the place the supreme chief holds final political and non secular authority.The state of affairs has intensified questions over whether or not the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is successfully in management, probably decreasing Khamenei to a symbolic figurehead. US President Donald Trump appeared to bolster that notion, saying he’s negotiating with different Iranian officers and never immediately with the supreme chief.In the meantime, preparations are reportedly underway in Qom for the burial of Ali Khamenei, with intelligence indicating plans for a big mausoleum that would maintain a number of graves. The delay in his funeral — uncommon in Shia custom, which requires swift burial — has raised additional questions, notably as Wednesday marks 40 days since his loss of life, the top of the formal mourning interval.The uncertainty on the high of Iran’s management comes as tensions proceed to spiral. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iranian infrastructure, together with energy crops and bridges, setting shifting deadlines tied to calls for over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has rejected ceasefire proposals and warned it won’t yield underneath stress.