A US intel report suggested that new Iranian supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “probably” gay — but he’s not the only Middle Eastern potentate rumored to swing that way.
For decades, whispers have long circulated about the late sultan of Oman, as well the short-lived leader of Hamas.
One of the sons of an Emirati sheikh was reportedly castigated by his father and forced to flee, before turning up dead from a drug overdose.
These unspoken truths for the ruling class come despite Iran and most other countries in the region having laws that brutally punish the “crime” of homosexuality for everyday people.
Reports about Mojtaba Khamenei’s sexuality were revealed earlier in March in a shocking US intelligence briefing, with sources telling The Post he had a long relationship with his childhood tutor.
He also had trouble finding a wife and underwent multiple treatments for “impotence” in London as a young man, according to leaked diplomatic cables.
Khamenei’s own father — who was killed in the first strikes of the war in Iran — also reportedly said his son should never be named as his successor.
But the Middle East has a long history of undercover gay life — in some places tacitly allowing gay sex between young men and dismissing it as a “phase.”
And then there’s the Sultan of Oman — Qaboos bin Said — the 15th ruler in his family’s line and the longest serving monarch in the Middle East at the time of his death in 2020.
Despite the incredible pedigree and nearly $700 million in personal wealth, he was married only briefly and reportedly filled his palace with handsome male attendants.
In his obituary, The Times made reference to “rumors of liaisons with elegant young European men.”
The Daily Mail reported that his sexuality was widely known among the ruling class, and bin Said was known to have a longtime male lover from England.
Oman, meanwhile, harshly imprisoned gays and lesbians under his rule and continues to today.
Rulers themselves are not the only members of the elite who apparently get a free pass while subjects are forced to live in fear and shadows.
The brother of slain Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — Mohammed Sinwar — was accused of sexually abusing boys while in prison, according to reports in Israeli media.
He was protected by Yahya — despite Hamas’ reputation for torturing gay men to death.
Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks, even tortured one of his top commanders in 2016 to death after informants claimed he had sex with other men in prison.
And one of brutal Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi’s sons, Saif al-Arab Gaddafi, was reportedly known to enjoy having sex with men as much as with women.
Not everybody gets the royal pass, however — some leaders have been known to vilely attack their own family for their sexuality.
Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi — ruler of the United Arab Emirates’ Sharjah — tried to imprison his son Khalid al-Qasimi for being gay.
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Al-Qasimi eventually fled to the United Kingdom — only to turn up dead of a drug overdose at 39 in 2019.
In Iran, sources told The Post that 56-year-old Khamenei has made “aggressive” drug-induced overtures towards male doctors while being treated for injuries sustained in the Feb. 28 US strike that killed his despotic father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and plunged Iran into war.
Khamenei’s sexual orientation appeared to have been an open secret in the highest ranks of Iran’s government, with US intelligence also reporting that he was treated numerous times for “impotency” decades ago after he was unable to impregnate his wife.
That impotence problem was so severe that Khamenei checked into treatment clinics at least four times – with one stay lasting at least two months – before he was finally able to satisfy his wife and conceive a son.
Khamenei even had two “temporary marriages” – which Islamic law allows so men and women can have sex in good religious standing, without committing to a true marriage – so that he could get some practice in the sack before tying the knot with his wife.
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Both Khamenei’s wife and son were killed on in the airstrike that eliminated his father alongside at least 49 top Iranian officials.
Khamenei is believed to have been severely injured in that strike, and hasn’t been seen since.
But he was still appointed Supreme Leader by March 8 after a shadowy vote that appeared to be heavily influenced by Iran’s menacing military branch, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
President Trump – who has dismissed Khamenei as “impotent” and reportedly laughed upon learning he was gay – called the new leader an “unacceptable” option unless he agreed to comply with all US demands.
Iran reportedly agreed to cease any effort to obtain nuclear weapons, Trump announced Tuesday, but Tehran has continued to deny that it is engaged in any negotiations with the US.
And the US Department of War has been preparing to deploy about 3,000 troops to the Middle East from the Army’s 82nd Infantry Division.
Iran has previously agreed to halt its nuclear program before the current conflict, only to continue operations in secret.
