The medical team that operated on Iranian leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to stop intestinal bleeding said Monday that he was taking solid food again, Tehran radio reported.
The broadcast, monitored in Nicosia, said the spiritual leader was making satisfactory progress after surgery on Tuesday and that his digestive system was functioning normally.Also Monday, the main Iranian opposition group claimed Khomeini suffered a heart attack four days after the surgery in a Tehran hospital.
The claim by the Mujahedeen Khalq, made in a statement sent to The Associated Press in Cyprus, could not be independently verified. However, Tehran television reported Khomeini suffered discomfort in his heart that was treated and relieved. The broadcast gave no details.
Surgery was carried out on Khomeini's duodenum. In the broadcast, the medical team also said Khomeini underwent a previous operation on his prostate gland but did not say when that surgery occurred.
Khomeini has been reported ailing since he suffered a heart attack in 1986. Since then, he has rarely been seen outside his suburban Tehran home.
According to official reports of the past, Khomeini's age is 89, but his brother, Pasandideh, said after the operation that Khomeini was 86.