Iranian state media published an undated video of the alleged “supreme leader” of the country, Mojtaba Khamenei, on Thursday, showing the son of the late ayatollah allegedly engaging a “religious science” class.
Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), which published the video on its English-language social media platforms, did not offer context for the video, such as when it was filmed or the occasion. The quality of the video appears inferior to that of modern film technology, suggesting it may be several years old, but is edited in a way that indicates it was part of a professional production — not a video taken on an observer’s mobile phone.
The video was not accompanied by a translation. Someone in the video who is not the younger Khamenei appears to be speaking German. Reports indicate that Khamenei himself appears to be speaking Arabic in the video, not Farsi.
President Donald Trump announced on February 28, the first day of the “Operation Epic Fury” military engagement, that longtime “supreme leader” of the Iranian terror state Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had been eliminated from the battlefield. Following the announcement — which preceded similar confirmations of the killings of dozens of high-ranking Iranian officials by American and Israeli strikes — what remained of the Iranian government declared that it had chosen Mojtaba Khamenei, Ali’s son, as the new “supreme leader.” The announcement prompted global skepticism as the younger Khamenei has made no public appearances since it was made, nor has the Iranian government offered any proof that he is alive. Khamenei has never held a public office, nor is he known to have any experience in government.
In lieu of an in-person public appearance, the Iranian government staged a ceremony to pledge allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei in which a crowd was encouraged to cheer on framed portraits of Khamenei, adding to international confusion.
The Iranian government announced the appointment of the younger Khamenei on March 9. He has, at press time, still made no public statements on camera and took three days to release a written statement, narrated by television propagandists on state media. The belligerent message emphasized the need for “revenge” on multiple occasions and notably declared, “Certainly, the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used.”
“We are not going to close the Strait of Hormuz,” Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said days later, undermining the idea that Mojtaba Khamenei is in charge of the Iranian government.
In the absence of any clear explanation of Khamenei’s status, anonymous reports have surfaced claiming that he is in various states of disability — some alleged that he was severely injured in the airstrike that killed his father, while others suggested that he is gay and, as such, considered unable to properly govern the country. Another host of unverified rumors claimed that Ali Khamenei considered his son “not very bright” and hoped to avoid handing the country over to him due to his incompetence. Neither Iranian nor American government officials have verified or confirmed any such rumors, though online observers have enjoyed mocking Khamenei based on these reports; the IRIB video published on Thursday prompted a wide array of replies making fun of Khamenei’s alleged homosexuality.
President Donald Trump has weighed in on the younger Khamenei on several occasions. Prior to the official announcement that he had been chosen as “supreme leader,” Trump warned the “assembly of experts” choosing not to pick Khamenei, disparaging him as a “lightweight” and insisting Washington would have to play a role in the choice. Later, when asked about the rumors of Khamenei’s injuries and other alleged shortcomings, Trump said that he believed that Khamenei was “alive in some form,” without elaborating.
Several experts have suggested that Khamenei was chosen as a figurehead and does not wield actual power, as the weapons and terror infrastructure of the country remain in the hands of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.
“Mojtaba Khamenei does not appear in public, but we also have reliable indications that he does not control or lead the regime or what has been left of the regime. The current Iranian leadership is broken, confused, and is almost misfunctioning,” Kobi Michael, a defense expert, told Fox News last week.
“In reality, the IRGC is running the show,” Iranian political analyst Shayan Samii told Iran International. “These figures who appear in front of the cameras are often the face presented to the public, but the real decisions are made within the security apparatus.”
Iranian leaders have continued to threaten attacks on America and Israel, though most of the Iranian military activity following the death of Ali Khamenei has consisted of missile strikes against Iran’s Arab neighbors, particularly Qatar and Saudi Arabia. In a message shared by regime media on Friday, General Staff of Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi declared that Iran would now target “tourist and recreational sites worldwide.”
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