September 12-14
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenehi, 75, under-went prostate surgery Monday and, in an unusual development, state media announced the operation immediately after it was completed.
The announcement broke the taboo against discussing the Supreme Leader’s health.
The operation was described as “routine” and “successful” by Dr. Ali-Reza Marandi, the head of the surgical team, who is also a Majlis deputy. Marandi was minister of health in the 1980s under Prime Minister Mir-Hossain Musavi, who is now under house arrest on orders from Khamenehi. Marandi served a second time as health minister during the second term of President Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani in the 1990s.
Before the operation, Khamenehi taped a brief interview with state television in which he said, “There is no reason to worry. Of course, this does not mean that I don’t need the people’s prayers…. But it is a routine operation.” The video was broadcast after the surgery when state broadcasting revealed the operation, although some news accounts erroneously said it was broadcast before Kha-menehi went into the operating theater.
Khamenehi’s health has long been subject to speculation and his office has never said anything about it before, apart from confirming he had had a cold that confined him to bed for a few days. The rapid announcement that he had undergone surgery appeared to be an effort to forestall leaks and speculation that might make the surgery appear more serious than it was.
Even so, the Daily Mail of London reported falsely that Khamenehi had been “rushed” to the hospital for medical care.
There have been several reports over the years that Khamenehi had prostate cancer. There have also been periodic false reports that he had died.
Marandi said the operation took a half-hour and was performed with local anesthesia. He said patients normally spend three
to five days in the hospital after such surgery. Khamenehi had the operation in Tehran’s Baghiatollah Hospital, which is reportedly owned by the Pasdaran.
“His health is totally good,” Marandi said, adding that Khamenehi would have to reduce his workload for several weeks while recovering.
Marandi did not say exactly what kind of prostate surgery Khamenehi underwent, but physicians said the recovery recommendation by Marandi suggested Khamenehi’s prostate was removed, which made it likely he had early-stage cancer of the prostate.
President Rohani was in Mashhad on a provincial visit the day before the surgery. An aide said he had been scheduled to fly on to Kazakhstan but instead returned to Tehran to be at the hospital.
Khamenehi did not get much rest after his operation as there was a constant parade of regime figures going to his bedside to be photographed with him, starting with Ali-Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani. One surprise was former President Mahmud Ahmadi-nejad, who dropped by to give Khamenehi a kiss on the cheek. Even a foreigner, Ammar al-Hakim, the leader of the Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, was ushered into the leader’s presence.
In fact, the only major figure not reported as visiting Khamenehi was former President Mohammad Khatami.
