What happened to Ayatollah Khamenei? Iran releases images after reports say Supreme Leader is in coma

Hours after reports suggested that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, was in a coma, Iran has released a picture of the Supreme Leader.

Khamenei's X handle posted a photo taken during his meeting with Iranian ambassador to Lebanon, Mojtaba Amani, on Sunday.

Reports claimed that Khamenei, 85, was in a coma and his second son, Mojtaba Khamenei, 55, was nominated as his successor. A final call regarding the succession will be taken by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Photos circulating online purportedly showed Khamenei in a hospital bed. However, misinformation researcher Tai Hagin said the viral pictures were taken in 2014.

This comes three weeks after New York Times reported that Khamenei was "seriously ill" and that there was confusion regarding his successor. A day before that, Israel had attacked Iranian missile facilities in a retaliatory attack.

Ebrahim Raisi, former Iranian President, who died in May, was the potential successor to Khamenei. However, after his death, Mojtaba was nominated as the sucessor.

Khamenei had fallen ill in September 2022, following which his public appearances were cancelled. The current Supreme Leader has been in power since August 6, 1989, after his predecessor, Ruhollah Khamenei, passed away.

Khamenei, who is the longest serving head of state in the Middle East, was the Iranian president before he took over as the Supreme Leader.