Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has been somewhat missing from the public sphere ever since he took charge as the country’s top leader following his father Syed Ali Khamenei’s death in a US-Israel joint strike on Iran in February 28.
No video or audio messages, Mojtaba’s statements are coming only via statements on social media or are read on the state television. Mojtaba is consciously as he does not want to appear vulnerable or sound weak in his first public address, the New York Times reported quoting an Iranian official.
According to the report, senior commanders of the Iran Guards and senior government officials do not visit him as they fear that Israel may trace his location though them and kill him. An Iranian official further said that though the top leader is ‘gravely’ injured, he remains mentally sharp and engaged.
To avoid being tracked down by US and Israel, messages to Mojtaba are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and passed on via a human chain from one trusted courier to the next, who travel on highways and back roads, in cars and on motorcycles until they reach his hide-out, the report added. His responses and guidance on issues in response to the messages follow the same track. He is mostly surrounded by doctors and healthcare professionals.
Injured, Supreme Leader may need plastic surgery
According to the report, Mojtaba has suffered some grave injuries allegedly in the US-Israel strikes which also damaged his face and may now need a plastic surgery. His one leg was operated thrice and is now awaiting a prosthetic leg. He has also suffered injury on one of his hands which regaining function gradually, the report added. The injuries on his face and lips have made it difficult for him to speak and may ultimately need a plastic surgery.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is also a heart surgeon, and the minister of health have both been involved in his care, the report added.
Mojtaba Khamenei’s X post on ‘enemy’s media ops’
Following the New York Times report on his health and injuries, Mojtaba on his social media slammed the ‘enemy’s media operations’ A post on Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s X account took aim at “the enemy’s media operations” that “seek to undermine unity and national security”, after the New York Times reported that he was seriously wounded in a strike that killed his father and predecessor but is mentally sharp.
The fighting between the US and Iran in the Middle East is paused with an uneasy ceasefire amid a deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz. Second round of talks could not take off as Iran refused to attend the negotiations in Pakistan over its demands, including insistence on nuclear rights.