(JTA) — Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly has been hospitalized with late-stage cancer.
Unofficial reports have emerged that Khamenei, 75, has stage-four prostate cancer and two years left to live, according to the Jerusalem Post. Khamenei reportedly has had the cancer for a decade, but doctors discovered during a surgery in September 2014 that the cancer had spread.
In Iran, the public has not been officially informed of Khamenei’s illness. The ayatollah holds absolute authority over Iran, including the final say on an accord being negotiated between the United States, world powers and Iran over its nuclear program.
Khamenei became supreme leader in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led Iran’s 1979 revolution. It is not clear who would succeed Khamenei should he step down or die.
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