Iran's disfigured supreme leader remains invisible six months into war
No video, photograph or even audio message of Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has emerged since his appointment a week into the war
Six months after the airstrikes which prompted the Iran War and wounded Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard.
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Speculation about the condition of the Supreme Leader has circulated since the strike, as Tehran faces yet further decisions over the conflict whilst the country’s already precarious economy teeters on the brink.
Sources close to Iranian leadership insist that Khamenei remains in control, running the country from private quarters for security reasons as he recovers from disfiguring injuries, whilst delegating a wide range of daily responsibilities to trusted officials.
But no video, photograph or even audio message has emerged of the leader since his appointment a week into the war – prompting Iranians to become further sceptical about his role in an Islamic Republic, where the leader’s authority is meant to be absolute.
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Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington told Reuters: "The question is no longer whether Mojtaba is alive, but whether Iran still has a functioning supreme leader."
The only correspondence from Khamenei to the Iranian people has come in the form of a series of written messages that have been read aloud by news broadcasters. He was even notably absent from his father’s extensive funeral ceremonies last month.
Khamenei's only messages to the Iranian people have come via a handful of written statements read aloud by news broadcasters, and he was even missing from the extravagant week of funeral rites for his father last month.
Those close to Khamenei have attributed his absence to fears of being assassinated and insist he regularly holds meetings with top officials, has oversight on all major reports and makes all final decisions.
President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed on August 10 that he had participated in a seven-hour meeting with Khamenei.
But even the most devout supporters of the regime are beginning to doubt these claims.
One member of a volunteer militia in Qom told Reuters: “We need to hear our leader's voice, or see any sign that he is there on top and leading the country to give us more confidence.”
Another businessman in Tehran told the outlet: "How do we know that Mojtaba has not been killed?"
"It is not logical that there is not a single sign proving he is alive, let alone evidence that he is involved in decision-making," he added.