Amid speculations about his alleged demise resurfacing following the unveiling of a mural on Saturday, a media report has detailed how Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei governs the Islamic Republic, and why he has not appeared in public since assuming office on March 8 last month.
How Mojtaba Khamenei is governing Iran?
According to a New York Times report citing a senior Iranian official, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since the February 28 US-Israeli attack that assassinated his father, wife, child and other family members, is passing commands via a trusted “human chain” to avoid being tracked by the United States and Israel.
The senior official said Mojtaba was”gravely” injured in the strikes but remains “mentally sharp and engaged”, adding that the Supreme Leader has not appeared in public because “he does not want to appear vulnerable or sound weak in his first public address.”
As per the report, Khamenei, 51, sustained grave injuries in the February 28 attack that “damaged his face” and left him requiring “plastic surgery.”
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Why IRGC commanders don’t visit Mojtaba Khamenei?
As per the NYT report, unprecedented security protocols have been put in place to protect the new Supreme Leader, and even senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guards Corp and high-ranking government officials refrain from visiting him, fearing that Israel could “trace his location” through their movements and orchestrate an assassination.
This has prompted Iran to rely on a completely manual communication system for contacting Mojtaba Khamenei. Messages intended for the leader are “handwritten, sealed in envelopes and passed on via a human chain” of trusted couriers.
The messengers reportedly navigate highways and rural back roads on motorcycles and in cars to reach his “hide-out,” with his responses following the same secure circuit, it said.
How bad are Mojtaba’s injuries?
According to the NYT report, Mojtaba Khamenei has suffered extensive injuries, with one of his legs reportedly undergoing three surgeries and is “awaiting a prosthetic leg,” while an injured hand is said to be “regaining function gradually.”
The report claims that severe injuries to Mojtaba’s “face and lips” have made it “difficult for him to speak”, forcing him to rely on hand-written notes to communicate orders.
The NYT report states that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a trained heart surgeon, and the country’s health minister have both been directly “involved in his care”, adding that the leader is reportedly “mostly surrounded by doctors and healthcare professionals” at an undisclosed location.
Is Mojtaba Khamenei dead or alive?
Meanwhile, speculations about Mojtaba Khamenei’s death resurfaced after his portrait appeared on a mural depicting top figures killed in the US-Israeli strikes, including his father and former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The artwork, which was unveiled at a public event attended by top Iranian officials in Mashhad on Saturday, depicted a portrait of Mojtaba Khamenei alongside his father, Ali Khamenei, and other senior leaders killed in US-Israeli attacks.
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Iranian authorities or the state media have not responded to speculations raised by the depiction of Mojtaba Khamenei on the mural.
The reports come amid speculations about the whereabouts and health of Mojtaba Khamenei, as he has not appeared in public since the February 28 strike, and his subsequent election as Iran’s new Supreme Leader on March 8.