Tehran, Iran – Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei has made his first public appearance after reports of poor health over the past week.
Dressed in black and wearing a mask as he has been since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Khamenei participated in a mourning event to mark the Shia religious observance of Arbaeen on Saturday.
An annual ceremony with the supreme leader’s participation is held with representatives of student groups but had been cancelled for the past two years because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Images released by Khamenei’s website showed the supreme leader walking, waving to the crowd and sitting to observe the mourning ceremony.
His appearance comes after multiple unconfirmed reports of the 83-year-old leader falling “gravely ill”.
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
Images reportedly of Khamenei attending a mourning ceremony today. They appear not/not to be stock photos. https://t.co/0OTBnbZutx
— Henry Rome (@hrome2) September 17, 2022
The New York Times late on Friday, citing four unnamed sources, reported Khamenei’s health deteriorated last week when he began experiencing severe stomach pains, leading to him undergoing surgery for bowel obstruction.
It also reported he was too weak to sit up and had cancelled all public meetings.
The Iranian government and state media, who rarely comment on the details of Khamenei’s health, remained silent on the reports as well.
The only news on local media was a denial that Khamenei had cancelled a meeting with the Assembly of Experts earlier this month, and claims he participated in an event last week with athletes and sports veterans.
No images or footage of that reported meeting were published, but a few athletes attested to the gathering on social media.
Reports concerning Khamenei’s health and false claims about his death have made headlines several times in recent years.
Khamenei, who has been Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, underwent a successful prostate cancer operation in 2014.
