Iran releases first video of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei since March appointment
Mehr News Agency publishes 12-second clip of Iran's Supreme Leader as unverified reports about his health continue to circulate five months after he assumed office following his father's death.
Iran releases first video of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei since March appointment
Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency has released the first video footage of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei since he assumed the country's highest office in March, amid persistent speculation over his health and extended absence from public view.
The 12-second video, published on Saturday, shows the 56-year-old leader seated on a carpet in a room while speaking with several officials and advisers. Wearing a black turban and a light grey robe over white clothing, he appears composed as those around him listen attentively. Mehr did not disclose when or where the footage was recorded, making it impossible to verify whether it reflects his current condition.
Historic succession following father's death
Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Iran's third Supreme Leader by the 88-member Assembly of Experts on March 8, approximately one week after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on his compound in Tehran on February 28. The elder Khamenei, who was 86, had served as Supreme Leader for more than 36 years, making him the longest-serving head of state in West Asia at the time of his death.
The succession marked an unprecedented moment in Iranian history as the first father-to-son transfer of the Supreme Leader position. Under Iran's constitution, the Supreme Leader sets domestic and foreign policy, supervises all branches of government including the executive, legislature and judiciary, and serves as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Background and previous role
Born on September 8, 1969, in Mashhad, Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and studied Islamic theology at the Qom Seminary. Before his appointment, he served as Vakil, or deputy, of the Supreme Leader from 2008 to 2026, operating as an influential behind-the-scenes figure and his father's principal gatekeeper.
Health speculation and public absence
Since taking office, Iranian authorities have largely communicated through written statements attributed to Mojtaba rather than public appearances, photographs or video messages. His prolonged absence has fuelled widespread speculation about his health and whereabouts.
Opposition-linked Iranian outlets and several Israeli media organisations have reported, without independent verification, that Khamenei was hospitalised following injuries allegedly sustained during the February attack. Channel 14 in Israel has claimed he remains in critical condition and could die within days, although no evidence has been produced to substantiate those reports.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged this week that communication with Khamenei was "very difficult at the moment" but said he had been able to meet him and described their discussions as constructive. He also criticised attempts by "malicious people" to portray the Supreme Leader inaccurately.
Previous video releases
Mehr described the footage as the first video it had released of Khamenei since he became Supreme Leader. Earlier this year, Iran's state broadcaster Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting also published an undated video showing him teaching a religious class, but similarly did not specify when or where it had been filmed.
Following Ali Khamenei's death on February 28, an Interim Leadership Council consisting of President Pezeshkian, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Eje'i and Ayatollah Alireza Arafi temporarily exercised supreme leader powers from March 1 until Mojtaba's formal appointment on March 8. The Assembly of Experts, a clerical body elected every eight years, is constitutionally responsible for selecting, supervising and potentially dismissing Iran's Supreme Leader.
