Supreme Leader Khamenei Under Doctors Observation As Health Concerns Mount

The New York Times has reported that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei is currently under observation by a team of doctors after falling ill last week.

• NYT: "[Khamenei's] office canceled all meetings last week, and also an important annual meeting with the Assembly of Experts — the body that will decide his replacement once he dies — on Sept. 6 because he was too ill to sit up..."
• As supreme leader, Khamenei broad powers on matters of national security, including a final decision on a return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear accords being negotiated with the United States.
• Selection of Khamenei's successor will be the responsibility of a highly secretive committee but Iranian social media has speculated this week that Khamenei's son, Mojtaba - an influential political leader with strong ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) - may be in line for the position.