An audio clip published and reviewed by The Telegraph reveals that Mojtaba Khamenei was targeted in the same strike that killed his father and other members of Iran’s leadership. The audio shows that he had stepped outside “to do something” shortly before Israeli ballistic missiles, Blue Sparrow, struck the palace at 9:32 a.m. local time on February 28.
A speech delivered by Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol for Ali Khamenei’s office, in front of senior clerics and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders, provides the first detailed account of what happened inside the supreme leader’s complex during the strike.
Hosseini revealed that Mojtaba Khamenei was injured in the leg during the attacks, while his wife and son were killed instantly, and his brother-in-law’s head was severed. The body of Mohammad Shirazi, head of Khamenei’s military office, was also “shredded.” Only “a few kilograms of flesh” could be used to identify him, Hosseini said during the meeting, which took place on March 12 in Tehran’s Kolhak district.
Mojtaba lived in the same complex as his father in the Iranian capital, which also housed a religious hall where Ali Khamenei delivered speeches, as well as the homes of his other children.
On February 28, Ali Khamenei and senior security officials gathered for a meeting when the missiles struck the complex. Mohammad Pakpour, head of the IRGC; Aziz Nasirzadeh, Iran’s defense minister; and Ali Khamenei were among the victims.
In the recording, Hosseini says: “It was God’s will that Mojtaba went out into the yard to do something and then returned. He was outside going upstairs when the building was hit by a missile. His wife, Haddad, died immediately.”
Hosseini stated that Mojtaba only suffered “a minor leg injury.” According to him, the attacks targeted multiple locations inside the office complex simultaneously and appeared designed to wipe out the entire Khamenei family.
“They planned to strike different places inside the office complex – one of them was the Supreme Leader’s residence,” he said. “They hit this location with three missiles.”
Mojtaba’s upper-floor home was damaged, as was the residence below, belonging to his brother-in-law, Misbah al-Huda Bagheri Kani, and his brother Mustafa and his wife’s home.
Hosseini added: “The enemy knew that as they were targeting the Supreme Leader, they were also targeting him, because they knew he would replace those who were killed, and when new commanders were appointed, they could influence the protesters. They shredded everything. They found nothing of him except a few kilograms of flesh and identified it as his body.
