Iran's supreme leader undergoes prostate surgery
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei undergoes 'routine', successful surgery, report quotes leader as saying there is 'no room for concern.'
The 75-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters in Iran and has been the country's top leader since 1989, was reported to be recovering.
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The official IRNA news agency said the operation, which was described as "routine," was successful. There were no immediate details on what had prompted the surgery or the underlying medical condition.
Iranian state TV said that Khamenei told the station just ahead of the surgery that there was "no room for concern" and that it was a routine operation. The TV aired a brief footage of Khamenei just ahead of the surgery in which he asked people to pray for him.
"There is no room for concern, but this does not mean that they - the people - do not need to pray," Khamenei said.
Media reports on the state of health of Iran's top leader are extremely rare.
Last October, The Times of London quoted Iranian sources as saying that Khamenei collapsed during a private meeting and since then has been convalescing or receiving treatment.
Reports suggest that he has had a relapse of a chronic illness. Khamenei became supreme leader in 1989 and has no appointed heir. His death, or even a prolonged absence, could prompt a power struggle as negotiations with the West over Iran’s nuclear program reach a critical stage, the British newspaper reported.
According to the report, concern grew when he did not send his customary goodwill message to Iranians departing for the hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, two weeks ago. He also failed last week to give his annual address marking the festival of Eid al-Ghadir, the most important date in the Shia Muslim calendar.
In 2007, it was rumored that Khamenei passed away. Iranian news agencies did not address the issue, but numerous blogs reported it. The blogs were not confirmed by any official source and later proven to be wrong.
It all started with a blog by Michael Ledeen, a senior researcher at the US Institute for Public Policy in Washington, who reported the ayatollah's death, after Khamenei did not appear in public in order to deliver his sermon in honor of the Hajj, as he does every year. Instead, his office issued a written announcement on his behalf.
Iran's UN envoy at the time, current Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif, said "We checked and there is no truth to it."
The Associated Press, Dudi Cohen and Reuters contributed to this report
