Iranian state-run media, Fars News Agency (FNA), has confirmed that Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, the widow of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, is alive. This confirmation comes in contrast to earlier reports suggesting she died in the same February 28 airstrike that killed her husband.
Initial widespread reports of her death were circulated following the airstrike, with many media outlets and officials claiming that she had perished alongside Khamenei.
However, on March 12, FNA issued a correction, stating that the reports had been erroneous.
“We report that the spouse of the Supreme Leader, who was believed to have died as a martyr, is alive. Initial reports on this matter were mistaken,” the agency said in its statement.
The correction brings clarity to the situation, resolving confusion that had spread across various news outlets in the aftermath of the airstrike.
Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh was born into a religious family in Mashhad in 1947. She married Khamenei in 1964, and the couple had six children together. Despite her husband's prominent political role, she maintained a largely private public profile throughout her life.
Her father, Mohammad Esmaeil Khojasteh Bagherzadeh, was a well-known businessman in Mashhad, and her brother, Hassan Khojaste Bagherzadeh, held a significant position as the former deputy director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB).
Throughout Khamenei's tenure as president and later as supreme leader, Mansoureh Khojasteh Bagherzadeh had a limited public role. She refrained from expressing political positions and kept a low profile. Official statements about her from Khamenei's website referred to her as a "patient spouse."
Although she avoided public political engagements, Bagherzadeh occasionally appeared at meetings and ceremonies, demonstrating her support for the families of deceased military personnel and officials.
