Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei In Coma After 'Serious Illness'? Fact-Checking Claim

Multiple social media posts surfaced Saturday claiming that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, 85, is seriously ill and is in a state of coma. The claims started going viral on social media on the heels of a report by the New York Times earlier in October that Ali Khamenei is "seriously ill." However, as of now, there is no official word from any sources about further deterioration of the Ayatollah's health. Jason Brodsky, the Policy Director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) and a Non-Resident Scholar at the Middle East Institute, debunked those claims saying that they are most likely false. He added that Ali Khamenei was last spotted on November 7. "Tweets about how #Iran's regime's supreme leader is in a coma or has even died are all over my timeline," he wrote. "There is not one credible news outlet which has reported as such. So please be careful what you post. Khamenei was last seen in public on November 7. "