Tehran released a video showing Mojtaba Khamenei talking with students, in an effort to convince the public that Iran’s new Supreme Leader is in good health and has made his first official public appearance.
Although the mullahs’ regime aims, through the video, to show that it was filmed after the February 28 attack, during which Iran’s then-Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed and Mojtaba himself was injured, the footage was actually taken before his injury, from an earlier lecture he gave in the city of Qom—although it is not known exactly when.
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State Media Video of Khamenei Backfires, Heightening Health Rumors
Iranian state outlets released a video titled “First Images of the Leader” showing the Supreme Leader addressing students, following reports of his critical hospitalization. However, Iranian social media users… pic.twitter.com/9sIAQ8IvWa
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Approximately five months after Mojtaba Khamenei was selected by the Assembly of Experts as his father’s successor and the deadly attack, in which he was reportedly very seriously injured, he has not made any public appearances, nor has any audio message or video featuring him been released, except for written messages via Telegram.
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Mystery Surrounding the Pezeskian–Khamenei Meeting: They Were Found in a Dark Car, Hearing but Unable to See Each Other
According to Iran International, Iranian President Masoud Pezeskian reportedly met with Mojtaba at a secret location a few months ago. Pezeskian was allowed to spend just a few minutes inside a dark car with tinted windows, along with a man who was introduced to him as Mojtaba Khamenei.
According to the same reports, Pezeskian could not see the man sitting next to him and later reportedly wondered whether the voice he heard actually belonged to the Supreme Leader.
This account of the only —as reported—meeting between Pezeskian and the third supreme leader of the Islamic Republic differs significantly from what the president himself has stated publicly.
In mid-May, Pezeskian had told representatives of professional associations that he met with the new leader for two and a half hours “in a cordial atmosphere.” However, according to Iran International’s sources, the meeting lasted only a few minutes, after which the president was asked to leave.
The meeting took place only after Pezeskian repeatedly made requests to that effect and even threatened to resign. The Supreme Leader’s office finally agreed to the meeting but informed the president that, contrary to standard practice, he would not be received at the Supreme Leader’s official residence.
Instead, the presidential guard transported him to an unknown location in Tehran. There, he got out of his official vehicle and was led to the back seat of a standard car with tinted windows, where —according to reports—Mojtaba Khamenei was already waiting for him.
The interior was so dark that the two men could not see each other, and Khamenei’s security detail did not even allow them to shake hands. So, all Pezeskian could do was listen to the voice of the supreme leader.
“Was that really Khamenei?”
The incident reportedly infuriated Pezeskian, who found it particularly humiliating. People close to the president claim that he later asked whether the man standing next to him was indeed the Supreme Leader, since he had never seen his face and had only heard his voice in the darkness.
It is unclear whether this question expressed genuine doubt or was a sign of his anger at the way he was treated.
According to the same sources, Pezeskian has since requested a second meeting, this time at the supreme leader’s residence, but his request has been rejected.
Source: Proto Thema
