Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and continuing to carry out his duties, amid growing speculation over his whereabouts following the war with the United States and Israel.
Mojtaba Khamenei took over as Iran’s Supreme Leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a February 28 airstrike carried out by the US and Israel. However, he has remained out of public view since the attacks, fueling speculation about his condition and location.
Speaking to India Today, Pezeshkian said Mojtaba was alive and continued to guide the country. He also accused the US and Israel of spreading rumours about the Supreme Leader’s whereabouts because they had been unable to locate him.
Pezeshkian told India Today, “Thankfully, our supreme leader is alive and he continues to guide us. He is carrying out his work exactly as before, under the same system. Since the enemy has been unable to determine his exact location, they are spreading rumours about our Supreme Leader so that the same thing could be done what was done to our previous leader," he added.
Pezeshkian further said Iran’s senior leadership had been targeted as part of a campaign involving strikes against leaders, commanders and scientists.
He described the US and Israel as the “real terrorists", alleging that they were using advanced technology to kill anyone they want. He also pointed to their activities in Syria, Lebanon and Qatar, and questioned the justifications given for those actions.
“So I think that in the world we live in, this is a new way of committing crimes. It is a catastrophe. The military forces are actually the real terrorists. They are the terrorists. They simply designate someone as a target, start their propaganda, and then say that a terrorist was their target," he added.
Unlike his father, who frequently addressed the Iranian people during periods of crisis, Mojtaba has not made a public appearance since the war began. His prolonged absence has made his whereabouts one of the biggest unanswered questions surrounding the conflict.
According to a report last month, Mojtaba is also believed to have “recently died from the injuries that he had sustained in February."
However, US President Donald Trump said in August that he believed Mojtaba Khamenei was still alive.
“He was very seriously wounded. The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing. He was very seriously wounded. But I don’t think he’s dead," he said.
The Middle East conflict started following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel, after which Iran, in its retaliation, targeted Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries and Israel, causing disruption in the waterway and affecting international energy markets and global economic stability since February 28.