The supreme leader of Iran transferred his powers over to his son on Saturday following his need for emergency medical attention; This comes after the cancellation of his meeting with President Rouhani on Friday.

Iranian Supreme Leader Sayyid Ali Hosseini Khamenei was reportedly in need of emergency medical attention on Saturday, resulting in the exchange of powers from him to his son. Khamenei reportedly had to cancel his meeting with President Hassan Rouhani on Friday after feeling ill, which clearly escalated overnight.

Khamenei’s son, Sayyid Mojtaba Hosseini Khamenei, is 51 years old and has multiple responsibilities throughout the country already. While specifics related to the circumstance remain in question, it is suspected that his illness could very well relate to his prostate cancer, which required surgery approximately six years ago.

Khamenei has been Iran’s supreme leader for 31 years and is currently 81 years old. He served as the Iranian president for eight years prior to his time as the supreme leader.