Khamenei's office denies rumours about bad health

Tehran, Dec 8 The office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has denied rumours about his health, it was reported.

On Monday, Mehdi Fazaeli, an official at Iran's Office for the Preservation and Publication of the Works of the Leader of the Revolution, denied the rumours, Xinhua quoted semi-official Fars news agency as saying.

"Whether the enemy likes it or not, the leader is in good health and cheerful, carrying out his duties according to the usual routine," Fazaeli said in a tweet.

On December 5, American magazine Newsweek, citing an Iranian journalist, reported that "Khamenei has transferred power to his son Mojtaba over health concerns".

Khamenei, the second Supreme Leader of Iran, has been in office since 1989.

He was previously President of Iran from 1981 to 1989.

Khamenei is the longest serving head of state in the Middle East, as well as the second-longest serving Iranian leader of the last century, after Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

( With inputs from IANS )

Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor