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International Business Times UK
International Business Times UK
Politics
Jim Manzon

Is Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Dead, Disabled, or Hiding? His Month-Long Absence Fuels Speculations

Mojtaba Khamenei Iran IRGC Ahmad Vahidi Ali Khamenei the Islamic Republic The Media Line the Revolutionary Guard
A Tehran billboard depicts Mojtaba Khamenei with one arm missing and legs covered, fuelling speculation over his condition (Credit: Open Source Intel/X)

Iran's new Supreme Leader has not been seen or heard in public since taking power nearly a month ago, and the question of who is actually running the Islamic Republic now shapes the trajectory of the ongoing war.

Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran's third Supreme Leader on 8 March 2026, eight days after US-Israeli airstrikes killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the Beit-e Rahbari residence in Tehran. But he has not appeared at any funeral for senior commanders killed in the strikes, issued no video messages, and released no photographs showing him since his appointment.

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