Amidst the ongoing war in the Middle East, questions are being raised about Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s hold on power in Tehran. This is happening because since assuming the post of Supreme Leader on March 8, he has not appeared in public even once. On the other hand, US President Donald Trump and Foreign Minister Marco Rubio have also claimed several times that Mujtaba Khamenei is probably dead.
Mujtaba Khamenei was not seen in public
As long as Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was the Supreme Leader, he used to give speeches on television after a certain time, which sent the message that he was a regular part of politics. In contrast, Mojtaba Khamenei has so far conveyed his message only through government TV anchors. Apart from this, Iranian officials also shared AI-generated pictures of Mujtaba to answer America. In such a situation, the perception is becoming stronger that the real power is in the hands of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.
The Guardian quoted the Iranian ambassador to Cyprus as saying that Mojtaba Khamenei was also injured in the attack on February 28. The ambassador had told that Mujtaba had suffered injuries in that attack. For the first time on March 12, in his address to the nation, Mujtaba Khamenei had talked about taking revenge from America and Israel and threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. Although he himself did not appear in front of the TV, rather the anchor read his message.
Threatened America through written message
On March 18, Mujtaba Khamenei had threatened to take revenge on the death of Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani and Basij commander Ghulamreza Suleimani. After this, on the occasion of Navroz on March 20, he also addressed through a written message. His father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was seen on TV every year on this occasion. On March 21, he did not even attend the Eid al-Fitr prayers in Tehran.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said that Mojtaba Khamenei has been injured in the attack on Iran and perhaps his face has been disfigured. Trump declared him dead because no one has heard from him. The Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations said that Mujtaba is absent due to security reasons. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed that Mujtaba Khamenei is completely healthy and is handling the affairs of the country.
Mujtaba Khamenei’s remaining underground for any reason is changing the direction of Iran’s politics. According to BBC, experts believe that now the thinking is growing rapidly that the complete command of power in this war is in the hands of IRGC.