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Tehran [Iran], April 25 (ANI): Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has been largely out of public view since succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israel strike on February 28, the New York Times reported.
The report, citing an Iranian official, said no video or audio of the new leader has been released. His directives are reportedly shared via social media posts or read aloud on state television, with officials suggesting Mojtaba is avoiding a public address to not appear vulnerable.
Security around the Supreme Leader has been tightened to unprecedented levels. Senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard and high-ranking government officials reportedly avoid visiting him, fearing that their movements could allow Israel or the US to trace his location and target him.
To bypass sophisticated electronic tracking, the report described a low-tech, secure communication system: messages to Mojtaba are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and passed along a “human chain” of trusted couriers. These messengers travel highways and rural roads on motorcycles and in cars to reach his undisclosed hideout, and his replies follow the same route.
The New York Times quoted an official saying Mojtaba was “gravely” injured in the strikes but remains mentally sharp and engaged. The strikes allegedly damaged his face and required plastic surgery. Medical details in the report said one leg had three operations and is awaiting a prosthetic, an injured hand is gradually regaining function, and facial and lip injuries have made speaking difficult.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a trained heart surgeon, and the health minister have been involved in his care. The leader is said to be mostly surrounded by doctors and healthcare professionals at an undisclosed location.
A post on Mojtaba Khamenei’s X account condemned such reports as “enemy media operations” aiming to “undermine unity and national security” after details of the wounds were published.
The report comes amid an uneasy ceasefire between the US and Iran after intense regional fighting. A deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz persists, and diplomacy has stalled: Iran refused to attend a second round of negotiations in Pakistan, citing demands including insistence on nuclear rights. (ANI)
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