Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh has died after falling into a coma during the recent US-Israeli strikes on the Supreme Leader's compound. Concurrently, state media confirmed that Mojtaba Khamenei survived the attacks and is managing state affairs.
Following the joint US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28, 2026, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the wife of Ali Khamenei, has died from her injuries. According to DW Persian دویچهوله فارسی, Khojasteh had been severely injured and fell into a coma after the initial assault on Khamenei's headquarters. اِپُک تایمز فارسی and ار.اف.ای / RFI فارسی corroborated her death, noting she succumbed to injuries sustained during Saturday's attacks. DW Persian added that Khojasteh, born in 1947, leaves behind a severely decimated family, noting reports that a daughter, son-in-law, grandchild, and daughter-in-law were also killed in the bombardment.
Amidst the casualties, state-aligned outlets moved to dispel rumors regarding the survival of Khamenei's influential son. The pro-regime news aggregator آخرین خبر and the government-aligned حامیان پزشکیان, citing the state-run Mehr News Agency, reported that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is "in perfect health", directly contradicting what they termed "Zionist media rumors." According to these sources, Mojtaba is currently managing the affairs of the "family martyrs" while also consulting on and reviewing "important affairs of the country." The Iran-aligned مقاومت اسلامی انصارالله یمن (Yemen's Ansarallah) echoed this exact state update.
The reporting surrounding Khojasteh's death reflects intense polarization across Persian-language networks. The state-affiliated regional outlet آخرین خبر خوزستان respectfully framed her death as a martyrdom, mourning the "Wife of the martyr Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader." Conversely, opposition and exile networks expressed hostility. The strongly anti-regime Iranncorg شورای ملی ایران referred to Ali Khamenei as the "criminal leader of the Islamic terrorist republic" and stated his wife had been "sent to hell." Similarly, prominent opposition aggregator Vahid Online وحید آنلاین explicitly labeled Khamenei the "dictator of Iran" in their reporting of the airstrikes.
Public reaction within Persian Telegram groups was chaotic and highly vitriolic. In the گروه خبر فوری chat channel, anti-regime users openly celebrated the deaths with mocking commentary and jokes about the deceased going to hell, while regime loyalists vowed that "their revenge will be taken" and praised Khojasteh for joining her "pure family" in heaven.
The source messages exhibit extreme polarization, typical of Persian-language media regarding the Iranian leadership. State-aligned channels use reverent terminology ('martyr', 'supreme leader'), while opposition and diaspora sources employ highly inflammatory and hostile language ('sent to hell', 'dictator', 'criminal leader'). Chat group messages contain intense vitriol and dark humor from anti-regime users, contrasting sharply with the solemn vows of revenge from regime loyalists.