In an interview with Fox News, Trump was asked about reports that U.S. intelligence had briefed him on aspects of Mojtaba Khamenei’s personal life. “Well, they did say that, but I don’t know if it was only them,” Trump replied. He added that others have made similar assertions and suggested the claims had given the Iranian leader a “bad start,” particularly in a country where homosexuality is illegal.
Trump’s comments come days after several media outlets said national intelligence officials had shared the information with him during a briefing. According to The New York Post, Trump appeared surprised during the session, reacting with visible astonishment and laughter. People present in the room also reportedly found the briefing “hilarious,” and at least one senior intelligence official was said to have been laughing about it for days.
The intelligence inputs, as reported, included allegations that Mojtaba Khamenei had a long-term sexual relationship with his childhood tutor. According to those accounts, the tutor had previously worked for the Khamenei family and allegedly made “aggressive” sexual advances toward men caring for Mojtaba.
Some previously published details about Mojtaba Khamenei’s private life have circulated in international media. A classified U.S. diplomatic cable from 2008, released by WikiLeaks, stated that he had traveled to the United Kingdom for treatment related to impotence.
That document noted that Mojtaba married “relatively late in life,” around age 30, and attributed the timing to what it described as an impotence issue that was reportedly treated during three extended stays at Wellington and Cromwell Hospitals in London.
None of the claims about Mojtaba Khamenei’s personal life have been independently corroborated, and Iranian authorities have not publicly commented on the matter.
