WANA (May 18) – The head of public relations for Iran’s Ministry of Health, Hossein Kermanpour, has shared details regarding the medical response following the February 28 airstrikes targeting Tehran’s Pastor district.

 

Kermanpour clarified that while the strikes on the government quarter and the leadership compound triggered widespread alarm, the injuries sustained by Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei—who had not yet assumed leadership at the time—were minor.

 

He explained that the operating room had been prepared and the necessary medical measures were taken, adding that, fortunately, nothing special had happened to the Supreme Leader.

 

Kermanpour noted that while anyone present at the scene of such an incident would naturally sustain several wounds, these injuries were not of the kind that would disfigure the Supreme Leader’s face, or cause him to become disabled or suffer an amputation like the late Leader.

 

He emphasized that it was not like that at all, and that only a few stitches were applied to the sites of the injuries, including a decision made right there to apply stitches to his leg.

 

Kermanpour further admitted that as he spoke about the topic, he did not know how many people would believe his words. He described the process of choosing who would perform the stitches and who would stand in the operating room to witness it as highly specific.

 

He confessed that even talking about the matter at that moment was a difficult task for him, as some people questioned why he spoke about it, while others questioned the way he phrased it.

 

He highlighted that narrative-building and storytelling are exceptionally difficult fields, pointing out that the start of the third war had begun with the “martyrdom” of the previous Supreme Leader, at a time when Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei had not yet reached the position of Supreme Leader and was still the son of the late Leader of the Revolution.

 

The official recalled that Health Minister Dr. Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi had personally navigated gridlocked traffic on a motorcycle to oversee operations at Sina Hospital during the chaotic opening hours of the conflict.