Iran’s supreme leader isn’t the only ‘probably gay’ Middle Eastern ruler — rumors have long swirled about these others
A U.S. intelligence assessment has indicated that Iran’s newly installed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is believed by analysts to be gay. The report adds to a long list of rumors and allegations involving prominent figures across the Middle East, where strict laws often criminalize homosexuality for ordinary citizens.
Information about Mojtaba Khamenei surfaced earlier this month during a U.S. intelligence briefing. According to sources familiar with the report, Khamenei allegedly maintained a lengthy relationship with a tutor from his youth. Diplomatic cables that were previously leaked also claimed he struggled to find a spouse and sought medical treatment in London years ago for impotence. His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war in Iran, had reportedly expressed that Mojtaba should never be chosen as his successor.
Despite harsh legal penalties against homosexuality in many countries in the region, rumors and discreet relationships among political elites have circulated for decades. Some societies have historically tolerated certain same-sex relationships in private while maintaining strict laws publicly.
One figure often mentioned in such discussions is Oman’s longtime ruler, Sultan Qaboos bin Said. The 15th monarch of his family’s dynasty, he governed the country for decades until his death in 2020 and was the longest-serving ruler in the Middle East at the time. Although he possessed immense wealth and status, including an estimated personal fortune of about $700 million, he was only briefly married. Reports and obituaries noted longstanding rumors that he kept male attendants in his palace and may have had relationships with European men. During his rule, however, Oman enforced severe punishments for homosexuality, policies that remain in place.
Claims of misconduct have also surfaced among members of militant organizations. Mohammed Sinwar, brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, has been accused in Israeli media reports of abusing boys while imprisoned. According to those accounts, he was shielded by his brother. Yahya Sinwar himself was known for enforcing harsh punishment within Hamas; in 2016 he reportedly ordered the killing of one of the group’s commanders after allegations the man had sexual relationships with other male prisoners.
Allegations about sexuality have extended to the family of Libya’s former dictator Muammar Gaddafi as well. One of his sons, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, was rumored in various reports to have had relationships with both men and women.
Not all members of ruling families have avoided consequences when their sexuality became known. Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, the ruler of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, reportedly attempted to imprison his son Khalid al-Qasimi after discovering he was gay. Khalid fled to the United Kingdom but was later found dead in 2019 at age 39 from a drug overdose.
The intelligence briefing about Mojtaba Khamenei included additional claims about his personal life. Sources told The Post that he had recently made inappropriate advances toward male medical staff while recovering from injuries suffered in a U.S. strike on Feb. 28 that killed his father and dozens of senior Iranian officials. American intelligence had also reported that decades earlier Khamenei underwent repeated treatments for impotence after struggling to conceive a child with his wife. Those treatments reportedly included several stays at clinics in London. Islamic law permits temporary marriages, and reports indicate Khamenei entered two such arrangements before marrying his wife in order to gain sexual experience. His wife and their son were also killed in the airstrike that targeted his father.
Khamenei is believed to have been badly injured in that attack and has not appeared publicly since. Nevertheless, he was appointed Iran’s supreme leader on March 8 following a secretive vote widely believed to have been influenced by the country’s powerful military force, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
President Trump has publicly criticized Khamenei’s selection, describing him as an unacceptable choice unless Iran agrees to meet U.S. demands. Trump also reportedly mocked the new leader after learning about the allegations concerning his sexuality.
President Trump announced Tuesday that Iran had agreed to halt any attempt to develop nuclear weapons, although officials in Tehran have denied that negotiations with the United States are taking place.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of War has been preparing to send roughly 3,000 troops from the Army’s 82nd Infantry Division to the Middle East as tensions remain high. Iran has previously pledged to suspend its nuclear program during earlier agreements but later continued the work covertly.
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