- Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly hasn’t met cabinet members since assuming leadership.
- He was allegedly injured, remaining out of public view since strikes.
- Pezeshkian reportedly met Khamenei in darkness, conflicting with prior claims.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not met any members of the country’s cabinet since the US-Israeli strikes that reportedly killed his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, according to opposition-aligned outlet IranWire, citing two unnamed sources close to President Masoud Pezeshkian’s administration.
The report claims that speculation about Mojtaba Khamenei’s health has intensified within the Iranian establishment, with rumours circulating among senior officials that he is in critical condition.
The sources claim that “rumors that he is in extremely critical condition and could pass away at any moment are circulating widely within the highest levels of the regime.”
According to one of the sources quoted by IranWire, “We would not be surprised if we heard news of his martyrdom soon.”
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Mojtaba Not Made Public Appearance Since Assuming Office
The report further alleges that Mojtaba Khamenei has not made any public appearances since assuming the role of Supreme Leader. It also claims that no audio or video recordings of him have been released, with state media publishing only written statements attributed to him.
IranWire further reports that Khamenei was injured during the strike that killed his father and has remained out of public view since then. It claims he has been communicating with senior regime officials through multiple intermediaries to minimise the risk of being targeted.
Adding to the speculation, President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview broadcast on state television on Wednesday that communication with Khamenei was currently “very difficult”.
Iran President Met Mojtaba In ‘Darkness’: Report
According to a report by Iran International, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was taken to a secret location in Tehran to meet Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, where the interaction allegedly took place inside a dark, tinted-window vehicle, preventing the president from seeing him.
The report claims the meeting lasted only a few minutes, after which Pezeshkian was asked to leave. It further alleges that Khamenei’s security personnel did not allow the president to shake hands with the Supreme Leader. According to the report, Pezeshkian later questioned whether the voice he heard had actually been Mojtaba Khamenei’s.
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However, Pezeshkian has previously described the meeting very differently. Speaking at a gathering of trade association representatives in May, he said he had spent two and a half hours with Khamenei in a “cordial atmosphere.”
