The CIA and Mossad are searching for Mojtaba Khamenei. Iran's supreme leader has not appeared in public at all until now
The CIA, Mossad and other intelligence agencies around the world watched Friday during Nowruz to see if Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would follow his father's tradition and deliver an Iranian New Year speech.
Mojtaba Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran PHOTO: X
The CIA, Mossad and other intelligence agencies around the world were watching Friday during Nowruz to see if Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would follow in his father's tradition and deliver a New Year's speech.
Nowruz is a celebration of fire and purity that coincides, according to the Iranian solar calendar, with the first day of the year. It has its origins in Zoroastrianism, apparently the oldest religion of mankind, writes Mediafax.
As the holiday passed and Mojtaba issued only a written statement, the mystery of his physical condition, whereabouts and role in Iran's war effort deepened, US media reports.
It is not at all surprising that Mojtaba has remained in the shadows. Since his father was killed, Israel has made it clear that Mojtaba is now at the top of its target list.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also claimed that Mojtaba was “wounded and probably disfigured” in the attack that killed his father.
But after three weeks without even a recorded video statement, Mojtaba's silence is growing stronger.
What US and Israeli intelligence think
The US and Israel have information suggesting that Mojtaba is still alive – for example, evidence of Iranian officials trying to schedule face-to-face meetings with him (unsuccessfully, due to security concerns).
The mystery surrounding Mojtaba has emerged during several of President Trump's intelligence briefings. Trump's national security team is still working to assess who is actually in charge in Tehran, a US official said.
“We have no evidence that he is actually the one giving the orders“, a senior Israeli official told Axios regarding Mojtaba. “It is extremely strange. We don't think the Iranians would have gone to great lengths to elect a dead man as supreme leader, but at the same time we have no evidence that he is taking over.”an American official said.
Mojtaba was named supreme leader on March 9 after his fellow hardliners rallied behind him to succeed his father.
His public response was limited to a written statement on Telegram three days later, deepening speculation about how badly he was injured during the Israeli attack on his father's residence.
US and Israeli intelligence had identified security chief Ali Larijani as Iran's de facto leader until Israel assassinated Larijani last Tuesday.
Mojtaba Khamenei was reportedly secretly flown to Moscow for treatment after injuries sustained in the bombings
“Their leaders are all gone. The next leaders are all gone. And the next leaders are mostly gone. And now, nobody wants to be a leader there anymore. It's hard for us. We want to talk to them, but we don't have anyone to talk to. You know what, we like it that way.”Trump said Friday.
Israeli officials say Iran's top leaders are all operating as wanted persons — moving between shelters and avoiding digital communications.
Mojtaba's Telegram channel published a message written for Nowruz, calling for unity, along with several photos of the new supreme leader.
A US official said the CIA was trying to determine whether the photos were recent. The official noted that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian released a Nowruz video message despite threats to his own safety.
“We would have expected to see Mojtaba in one form or another as well. He didn't take advantage of the opportunity and the tradition,” the US official added. “It's an important wake-up call.”
Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv, noted that there is no evidence that Mojtaba is alive, even if his injury and security concerns make it difficult for him to fully exercise his authority.
“Under the current exceptional circumstances, we should not expect him to appear in public and his injury may not even allow him to release a video recording so as not to expose the seriousness of his condition to the public.”Zimmt said.
CIA in US Congress: No signs of imminent collapse
CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Defense Intelligence Agency Director General James Adams testified Thursday in a classified hearing before the House Intelligence Committee that the Iranian regime is facing a deep crisis of command and control, but there is no sign of an imminent collapse, according to Axios.
Two senior Israeli officials claimed that Larijani's assassination widened the power vacuum and that it is mainly filled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Mojtaba's rise has come about thanks to his close ties to the IRGC, which has vast influence over Iran's economy, politics and security and which Israeli officials say now effectively runs the country.
“The IRGC is taking over Iran and they are crazy“, a senior Arab official told Axios. “They are extremely ideological and ready to die and meet Khamenei Senior.”
Ratcliffe and Adams stressed during the hearing that it was too early to tell whether the regime could survive the war and the loss of so many senior leaders.
Israel has made it clear that laying the groundwork for regime change is one of its war aims.
“We believe that as we increase external pressure on them, internal pressure will increase. The more this happens, the more likely the regime will collapse.” a senior Israeli official said.
Some critics of the war have argued that removing the old guard only paves the way for more intransigent leaders like Mojtaba.
