A Written Message Read on State Television Fails To End Speculation About Fate of Iran’s New Supreme Leader

A message read on television on Thursday, presented as the first address to the nation of Iran’s new top leader, did little to end rumors that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khameni is but a figurehead that was propped up like the titular character in the “Weekend at Bernie’s” film. The 20-minute televised message, claiming it was delivered in the supreme leader’s handwriting, followed Mojataba Khamenei’s inauguration on Wednesday. While that crowning event was attended by large cheering crowds at Tehran, the anointed leader failed to attend it in person. Instead, a poster with his image was displayed on a chair on stage. An artificial intelligence-produced video showed President Trump unearthing a White House portrait of the top mullah as a cutout cardboard figure. The meme went viral with endless cardboard caricatures. It summed up days of speculation that the 65-year-old son of the former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, is badly injured, in a coma, or even dead.In addition to the written statements that were read out on television by a female anchor, the regime revived the late Supreme Leader’s X account. Parts of the televised address were posted in English on the social media site with the revised handle @MKhamenei_Ir.The alleged proof-of-life produced Thursday largely failed to dispel those rumors. “In many ways, the regime is making people even more suspicious,” a correspondent for the London-based anti-regime website, Iran International, Negar Mojtahedi, tells the Sun. “If he is alive, or if he is in a stable condition, why wouldn’t you just have a pre-recorded video message where I can actually see him, and hear his voice, and see that he’s alive?” Earlier in the week, Iranian regime press outlets publicized a supposed message from Mojtaba Khamenei’s social media account. Several Western reports also cited an unidentified Tehran source as saying that the top mullah had been lightly injured in his foot and eye on the first day of the war.That latter leak seemed designed to dispel widespread reports that Mojtaba’s leg had been amputated and that he is hospitalized at a Tehran hospital. According to some reports, President Masoud Pezeshkian visited the leader, and found that he was comatose and breathing via a ventilator. Mr. Pezeshkian denied seeing the chosen leader. The rumor mill started immediately after the Islamic Republic’s Assembly of Experts, which is charged with selecting a new Supreme Leader to steer the country, announced that it picked the son of the slain Ali Khamenei. That was Sunday. According to unconfirmed speculation, the Assembly in fact picked a different supreme leader, but to protect him from assassination attempts, it named a man that can no longer be targeted. “Whatever the rumors, the identity of the new supreme leader doesn’t really matter because there is no chain of command and the only powers that count for now are the Revolutionary Guards,” a veteran Jerusalem-based Farsi language broadcaster, Menashe Amir, tells the Sun.According to reports based on forensic analysis of videotaped statements made by the remaining regime figures, they all moved out of Tehran to Mashhad. That location, near the Iranian border with Afghanistan, is the farthest point in Iran from Israeli and American fighter jets’ flight range. The televised message Thursday that was attributed to the supreme leader repeated threats, demands, and unrealistic expectations that had already been issued by a number of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps power players. If anyone hoped for a new tone, or a call for a diplomatic exit ramp, the tone instead signified a desire to escalate the war. It called on Iranians to come out to the streets on Friday, which was Quds Day, traditionally marked by anti-American and anti-Israeli chants. The new leader was not involved in the succession process, and “learned about my leadership through state TV,” the purported message from Mojtaba Khamenei said.“My father remained defiant until his death, as shown by the clenched fist on his body when I saw” him. He vowed to avenge the February 28 slaying of his father, wife, child, sister, and other Iranians, and said that the Islamic Republic “cannot survive without the support of the people.” Addressing America, the message vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz blocked and called for opening new front lines. It threatened to confiscate as much enemy assets “as we deem appropriate,” and maintain attacks on foreign bases in the region. It also demanded reparation for the damage it caused to Iran, and said it would exact similar pains on America.

A Written Message Read on State Television Fails To End Speculation About Fate of Iran’s New Supreme Leader

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