Khamenei Undergoes Prostate Surgery

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei underwent surgery for prostate cancer on Monday at a government hospital in Tehran. The 75-year-old cleric has been the country’s top leader since 1989 when he succeeded the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, after his death.

Iranian state TV aired a brief footage of Khamenei just ahead of surgery in which he asked people to pray for him. He was later reported recovering from the surgery. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani delayed a planned trip to Kazakhstan to visit Khamenei in hospital.

File photo: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (FNA)