Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since the Assembly of Experts named him Supreme Leader on 9 March — thirteen days without a video appearance, a voice recording, or a verified photograph. His sole substantive act has been a written Nowruz message, read by a presenter on state television, claiming the "enemy has been defeated" and urging media to "refrain from focusing on weaknesses". Every Supreme Leader since the Islamic Republic's founding in 1979 has delivered a televised Nowruz address in person. Mojtaba did not.
The CIA, Mossad, and allied intelligence agencies are actively searching for evidence that Khamenei is alive and functioning, Axios reported, citing US and allied officials1. One US official stated: "We don't think the Iranians would have gone through all this trouble to choose a dead guy as The Supreme Leader, but at the same time, we have no proof that he is taking the helm"2. A leaked audio recording obtained by The Telegraph — from Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol for Ali Khamenei's office, speaking at a 12 March meeting — described Mojtaba stepping into his garden moments before ballistic missiles struck his home on 28 February. His wife and son were killed instantly. He survived with a leg injury, by "mere seconds". Defence Secretary Hegseth subsequently claimed Khamenei is "wounded and likely disfigured." Trump told reporters on 10 March: "We don't know if he's dead or not... A lot of people are saying that he's badly disfigured". The IDF has publicly named him as an assassination target — Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin stated on camera: "He is not immune. We will pursue him, find him, and neutralise him".
Iran's constitution vests The Supreme Leader with sole command of all armed forces and sole authority to declare war or accept its end. The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters — which issued the counter-threat to Trump's 48-hour power-grid ultimatum — reports directly to him. The Diego Garcia missile strike, which revealed a 4,000 km range Iran had publicly denied possessing, required authorisation from the supreme command level. If Khamenei cannot function, Article 111 of the constitution provides for a temporary three-member Leadership Council — the president, the head of the judiciary, and a Guardian Council jurist. This mechanism has never been activated, and its members lack both the IRGC's institutional loyalty and the theological authority The Supreme Leader holds as velayat-e faqih, the guardianship of the Islamic jurist that is the constitutional foundation of the office's power. Any diplomatic off-ramp also requires a counterpart with authority to agree terms — and it is unclear who that counterpart is. Iran is fighting a war in which the individual constitutionally responsible for both prosecuting and ending hostilities has not been verified as functional by any Western or allied intelligence service in thirteen days.
