Finding Mojtaba Khamenei: Iran Supreme Leader’s whereabouts puzzle US, Israel

The continued absence of Mojtaba Khamenei, according to a Axios report, has been a matter of discussion during President Donald Trump’s intelligence briefings.

The report also quoted an official as saying that the US national security team is still assessing who is in charge in Tehran.

Mojtaba ascended to the position of Iran’s Supreme Leader on March 9, following the death of his father in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28.

However, the new Supreme Leader is yet to make a public appearance. His first public statement on March 12 as well as his Nowruz message on March 20 were read out by the state media, further deepening the mystery about his whereabouts.

As per the latest Israeli and US media reports, the new Supreme Leader is alive but not in real control of his country. Sources told Jerusalem Post that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps could be holding effective power in Iran while Mojtaba is unable to fully exert his authority over the political apparatus.

The Israeli publication quoted US-Israeli intelligence sources as saying that Mojtaba remains physically capable of carrying out at least some functions, despite being injured in the February 28 airstrike that killed his father, Ali Khamenei.

“We don’t think the Iranians would have gone through all this trouble to choose a dead guy as the supreme leader. At the same time, we have no proof that he is taking the helm,” a US official told Axios.

Iran experts like Raz Zimmt of the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv told Axios that the new Supreme Leader is unlikely to make any public appearance due to the ongoing security situation.

“His injury does not even allow him to release a recorded video in order not to expose to the public the severity of his condition,” Zimmt told the US publication.

In his first-ever public statement as the Supreme Leader on March 12, which was read by a TV news presenter, Mojtaba outlined a hardline stance on the United States and the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing conflict in the Gulf region. He also warned that Iran would avenge the blood of its martyrs and keep the Strait of Hormuz closed.

On March 20, the Persian New Year, the newly appointed Supreme Leader praised the steadfastness of the Iranian people in yet another written statement released to the state media. On the same day, the Iranian state media released an undated video of Mojtaba teaching religious science at a seminary.

Mojtaba’s absence from public view coincides with the continued elimination of top Iranian officials by Israel.

INDIA TODAY