Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first public message Thursday since assuming power after the death of his father, Ali Khamenei. The statement was delivered as a written text read by a presenter on state television. That unusual format immediately fueled questions about both his health and the degree of his control over the country at a moment of acute regional crisis.
Unlike his father, Ali Khamenei, who rose to the supreme leadership after serving as Iran’s president, Mojtaba Khamenei has remained almost entirely out of public view. This was not only his first message as supreme leader, but effectively his first known public political address.
That contrast matters because Ali Khamenei entered the office with years of visible national political experience behind him. Mojtaba Khamenei, by comparison, has never given interviews and has never spoken publicly, making Thursday’s statement his first known public address.
The tone of Mojtaba Khamenei’s first message appeared aimed at establishing continuity. Much of it presented the current crisis as an extension of the struggle led by his father, suggesting that although Ali Khamenei is dead, his political and ideological struggle continues.
When Lebanon and Israel announced a ceasefire agreement on April 16, Nasreen Abd Elaal and her...
Russian forces executed a series of targeted irst-person view (FPV) drone strikes and heavy artillery bombardments...
One person has been killed and five others wounded in a series of shooting attacks in...
The British government has said Jordan's custodianship of Jerusalem's holy sites "must be respected" in a...
