Why has Iran released no proof of life of Mojtaba Khamenei? Araghchi reveals...

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Sunday (Sep 27) revealed why there has been no proof of life of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been released since he took power in March. Mojtaba Khamenei’s whereabouts have remained unknown since the war began on February 28, when the US and Israel launched joint strikes on Tehran. In the strikes, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Mojtaba’s father, was killed. Following his death, Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s Supreme Leader in March. However, he has remained out of the public eye, with no pictures or videos of him released. Mojtaba has only shared written statements on occasion, which are often read on Iranian state media.

Why is there no proof of life of Mojtaba?

Speaking in an interview with NBC News, Araghchi revealed why there has been no proof of life of the Iranian leader since he came into power. The Iranian minister attributed his absence to “security concerns.” He also said that there are indications that Mojtaba is under threat by Americans.

Responding to NBC anchor, Araghchi said, “Well, there are security concerns, and you’re well aware of that. You know, our Supreme Leader was illegally assassinated during the last war. And I think it is very logical that we protect our leader. There are lots of indications that he is under threat by Americans.”

Dismissing earlier reports claiming that Mojtaba Khamenai is not completely in power and decision-making in Iran during the war, Araghchi said that he is in “full control”.

“There are other indications that he is in full control, he is in full order. We receive his, you know, comments, and orders, and opinions. And there is a national consensus on decision-making. It is false if somebody thinks that there are different sources of power inside Iran,” Araghchi said.

“We move based on national consensus. We in the Foreign Ministry are in close coordination with the government, with IRGC, with the Supreme National Security Council, with the Parliament. We are all in one front, facing all challenges imposed on us by the US,” he added.

Mojtaba survived two US-Israeli strikes

According to a New York Post report, the Iranian supreme leader survived a second US-Israeli strike while being treated in a hospital after being injured in the initial attack.

The report, citing an Iranian cleric, said that the 56-year-old was taken to a hospital after the US and Israel attacked a compound in Tehran to eliminate his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28. However, the US and Israel targeted three medical compounds, including one in which Mojtaba was being treated “at some time in the days that followed”.

“Even after he had been wounded and taken to the hospital, three hospitals in Tehran were bombed,” Mohsen Heydari, a member of Iran’s Assembly of Experts, told the New York Post. “Mojtaba Khamenei was in the third hospital and was pulled from the rubble.”