President Trump was briefed last week on US intelligence indicating that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, may be gay and that his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, questioned his suitability to rule the Islamic Republic for that reason, according to sources familiar with the briefing.
Trump reacted with visible surprise and laughed aloud when informed of the intelligence, sources said.
Others present during the briefing also reacted similarly, with one senior intelligence official described as continuing to find the information amusing in the days following the discussion.
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The claim was described by two intelligence community officials and a third individual close to the White House.
All three sources said the allegation, while unusual, is being treated as credible by US intelligence agencies rather than as disinformation aimed at undermining Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who was selected to replace his father following his death on March 8.
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Two of the sources said intelligence indicated Mojtaba Khamenei, sometimes referred to as “the power behind the robes” during his time acting as a gatekeeper for his father, had maintained a long-term relationship with a childhood tutor.
A third source said the relationship involved a person who had previously worked for the Khamenei family.
According to one source, intelligence also indicated that Mojtaba made “aggressive” sexual overtures toward men providing medical care after he was reportedly wounded in a Feb. 28 airstrike that killed his father and other family members.
The source said these actions may have occurred while he was under heavy medication.
Officials said US intelligence agencies do not possess photographic evidence of Mojtaba Khamenei’s alleged sexual behavior. However, one source said the information was “derived from one of the most protected sources that the government has,” while another added, “The fact that this was elevated to the highest of high levels shows you there’s some confidence in this.”
Sources said speculation about Mojtaba Khamenei’s personal life had circulated within Iran since at least May 2024, following a helicopter crash that killed then-President Ebrahim Raisi, who had been widely viewed as a preferred successor to Ali Khamenei.
Within the US government, one source described the information as “a pretty closely held piece of information.”
President Trump previously criticized Mojtaba Khamenei, calling him a “lightweight” and an “unacceptable” choice to lead Iran.
The new supreme leader is widely viewed as unlikely to yield to US demands related to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which were cited as justification for Operation Epic Fury.
Some previously reported details have been cited by sources as potentially relevant to the current intelligence assessment.
A classified US diplomatic cable from 2008, later published by WikiLeaks, stated that Mojtaba Khamenei had been treated in the United Kingdom for impotence.
The cable did not specify the cause of the condition.
The State Department document said Mojtaba married “relatively late in life” at around age 30, “reportedly due to an impotency problem treated and eventually resolved during three extended visits to the UK, at Wellington and Cromwell Hospitals, London.”
The document further stated, “Mojtaba was expected by his family to produce children quickly, but needed a fourth visit to the UK for medical treatment; after a stay of two months, his wife became pregnant.”
Mojtaba’s wife, Zahra, and his teenage son, Mohammad Bagher, were reportedly killed in the Feb. 28 airstrike that also killed his father. He is reported to have one other son and a daughter.
The issue of Mojtaba Khamenei’s personal life was also referenced in a CBS News report, which stated that his father preferred another successor in part due to unspecified “issues” related to Mojtaba’s “personal life.”
One source familiar with the intelligence said, “His father and others suspected he was gay and that was something that people were spreading to try to stop his ascension.”
Homosexual conduct is illegal in Iran, where authorities enforce strict penalties.
While the government permits surgical sex change procedures, some reports indicate individuals may face pressure to undergo such operations to avoid prosecution.
Sodomy remains a capital offense in the country, which has a population of approximately 93 million.
Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad stated in 2007, “In Iran, we don’t have homosexuals.”
One source familiar with the intelligence said that, despite general concerns about revealing personal information, the circumstances surrounding Iran’s laws and governance were relevant.
“If there was ever a time where it was OK to out somebody, it would be when it’s a leader of a repressive Islamic theocracy that hangs gay people by cranes,” the source said.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s current location and the status of his recovery following the Feb. 28 airstrike remain unclear.
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