Six months after the airstrikes that opened the war and propelled a badly wounded Mojtaba Khamenei into the role of Iran's supreme leader, he remains completely unseen and unheard by Iranians, a vacuum at the heart of the country's leadership, according to Reuters. Questions over his condition and role are becoming increasingly pressing as Iran confronts critical decisions over a conflict that has destabilised the Middle East and battered its already fragile economy.
Iranian officials and other senior sources told Reuters that Khamenei remains in control, governing from the shadows for security reasons as he recovers from disfiguring wounds, while delegating broad daily authority to a small circle of top figures. But with no photograph, video or audio message released since his appointment a week into the war, Iranians are growing increasingly sceptical of his position within a system in which the leader's authority is meant to be absolute. "The question is no longer whether Mojtaba is alive, but whether Iran still has a functioning supreme leader," said Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington.
Khamenei's only communications with the Iranian public have come through a handful of written statements read aloud by broadcasters, and he was notably absent from the elaborate week of funeral rites held last month for his father. Senior officials attribute his absence to fears of assassination, insisting he holds frequent meetings with top figures, receives all major reports, and makes the final decision on every significant issue. President Masoud Pezeshkian said on 10 August that he had held a seven-hour meeting with Khamenei.
Doubts among hardliners and critics alike
Even among some of the Islamic Republic's most committed supporters, doubts are emerging. A member of the Basij volunteer militia in the seminary city of Qom, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said hearing the leader's voice or seeing any sign of his involvement would provide greater confidence, though he said he personally believed Khamenei was still making key decisions. He added that the absence of even a photograph was damaging national morale.
Among Iranians opposed to the ruling system, scepticism runs deeper. Shahrokh, a pro-reform businessman in Tehran who also asked not to be fully identified, questioned how anyone could be certain Khamenei was even alive, given the absence of any evidence of his involvement in decision-making.
Guards central to reorganised power structure
Reuters reports that Iran has weathered six months of war with its most powerful adversaries while remaining politically and militarily intact, with its clerical establishment demonstrating it can absorb the loss of a supreme leader and senior commanders without collapse. Iran's economy, however, is straining under the cost of the war and a prolonged blockade of its oil exports, which has driven the rial to record lows and raised the risk of a resurgence of the mass protests Iranian authorities crushed in January, when thousands of demonstrators were killed.
According to sources cited by Reuters, the Revolutionary Guards have grown more influential since the war began and remain central to strategic decision-making within a reorganised leadership structure built around the Supreme National Security Council, which includes senior Guards commanders alongside political figures such as Pezeshkian and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Several senior sources told Reuters that Khamenei is genuinely holding meetings with these figures and retains final authority over major decisions. A senior Iranian official said only a small number of officials maintain direct in-person contact with him, and that no details about him have been published for fear of leaking information that could help the United States locate him. A person close to Khamenei's inner circle described his health as improving significantly and said he remains sharp and actively involved in decision-making.
Before the war, Khamenei had long preferred a background role as his father's top aide, avoiding public attention. According to senior sources, he was disfigured in the early hours of 28 February, when Israeli and US airstrikes opened the war and killed his father. Vatanka argued that Khamenei's prolonged absence carries real risk for Iran's decision-making. "A genuine deal with Washington requires Mojtaba's unmistakable approval," he said, warning that the vacuum has left rival factions able to each claim to know the leader's true intentions.
Source: Reuters
