WASHINGTON — President Trump was stunned to learn last week that US intelligence indicates new Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei may be gay — and that his father, the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, feared his suitability to rule the Islamic Republic for that reason, The Post can reveal.
Trump couldn’t contain his surprise and laughed aloud when he was briefed on the intel, according to sources.
Others in the room also found it “hilarious” and joined the president’s reaction, while one senior intelligence official “has not stopped laughing about it for days,” said one person familiar with the briefing.
supreme leader, in a headshot wearing a black turban, glasses, and a blue tunic with a black robe.”/>
Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei may be gay, according to US intelligence briefed to President Trump. via REUTERS
The shocking claim was described to The Post by two intelligence community officials and a third person close to the White House.
All three sources say the implausible-sounding allegation is viewed as credible by US spy agencies, rather than false information intended to undermine Khamenei, 56, who was selected to replace his dead father as supreme leader on March 8.
Two of the sources said the intelligence indicated that Mojtaba, who earned the nickname “the power behind the robes” while serving as his aging dad’s gatekeeper, has had a long-term sexual relationship with his childhood tutor.
The third source said the intelligence indicated the affair was with a person who formerly worked for the Khamenei family.
Mojtaba, who is believed to have been wounded in the same Feb. 28 airstrike that killed his father and other members of his family, has made “aggressive” sexual overtures to men caring for him, possibly while under the influence of heavy medication, one of The Post’s sources said.
US spy agencies do not have photographic evidence of Mojtaba Khamenei’s alleged sexual attraction to men, but the sources insisted the tip is solid, with one saying it was “derived from one of the most protected sources that the government has.”
President Trump and aides reportedly laughed aloud at the intelligence report. REUTERS
Mojtaba’s father, the former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, allegedly suspected his son was gay, sources said. AFP via Getty Images
“The fact that this was elevated to the highest of high levels shows you there’s some confidence in this,” added a second source.
Mojtaba’s purported sexual orientation had been whispered about inside Iran since at least the May 2024 helicopter crash that killed then-President Ebrahim Raisi, Ali Khamenei’s presumed favorite to be the next supreme leader, sources said.
Within the US government, “it’s been a pretty closely held piece of information,” one insider said.
Trump previously dismissed Mojtaba Khamenei as a “lightweight” and an “unacceptable” choice to run Iran. The new supreme leader is widely considered to be someone who would not bend to US demands to abandon the nuclear and ballistic missile programs that prompted Operation Epic Fury.