Claim and reality: Ghalibaf and Mojtaba Khamenei's 'full health'

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, speaker of the Islamic Republic's parliament, spoke on the floor of parliament on Tuesday, 27 October 2026, about his recent meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei, the Islamic Republic's leader, and claimed: "He is in full health." According to Ghalibaf, Mojtaba Khamenei was in high spirits, showed command of both broad and detailed matters, and the meeting covered economic indicators.

Ghalibaf gave neither the time nor the place of the meeting, and no photo or video of it was released.

The claim

The speaker of the Islamic Republic's parliament says the regime's leader is in full health and in control of affairs.

The reality

Since 8 March 2026, the day he was chosen as the Islamic Republic's leader, Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public even once; only written messages in his name have been released. This absence has now lasted nearly eight months.

Ghalibaf's claim follows a familiar pattern among Islamic Republic officials. Masoud Pezeshkian said in April-May that he had met Mojtaba Khamenei, but he too gave no time, place or list of those present. An official of the Islamic Republic's health ministry had described his injuries in the US and Israeli strikes as "superficial". In July-August, the state-affiliated Mehr news agency released an undated 12-second video of him with a few officials; its time and place were not disclosed, and no independent source has confirmed his state of health.

During this period, according to international media, the Supreme National Security Council, of which Ghalibaf is a member, has become the main forum for collective decision-making in the Islamic Republic. Ghalibaf had earlier also appeared as the spokesman for the regime's economic decisions, including the call to cut gas consumption by 10 percent.

Verdict

The claim that the Islamic Republic's leader is in "full health" is baseless: no document, image or dated public appearance supports it, and its only evidence is the word of officials who keep the details of the meeting hidden.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen at any public event for nearly eight months.