A severely injured Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the Supreme Leader of Iran after the February 28 US-Israeli strikes, is reportedly in hiding and not very accessible now. According to a New York Times report, Mojtaba Khamenei was chosen as the Supreme Leader by a council of senior clerics and had surgery on one hand, is slowly regaining function. His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak.
Handwritten messages, delivered through human chain, are the only means of communication for Mojtaba Khamenei. Officials said he remains mentally sharp and engaged, but is awaiting a prosthetic for one leg and will eventually need plastic surgery. He has not been publicly seen or recorded a video or audio message since the start of the war.
Mojtaba Khamenei has delegated decision making to the generals due to his health condition and the difficulty in communicating with him. The Islamic republic has not been toppled, power now wrests with an ineradicable, hard-line military, leaving the broad influence of the clerics waning.
