By Mostafa Salem, CNN
(CNN) — As the sea of mourners filled a colossal mosque courtyard in Tehran to see the body of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei for the last time, a mystery man in clerical robes stood at a distance, observing from a balcony the unfolding of the historic ceremony.
The man, standing at the side of a small group of people, appeared in a grainy video that went viral on social media, fueled by suspicions that he was the ayatollah’s son and Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
His face wasn’t clear in the video and beyond the robes, which were similar to those worn by many other Shiite clerics at the ceremony, there was nothing to indicate that it was Khamenei. Reza Mousavi Vaez, an Iranian cleric, later stated on social media that he was the man in the video.
But the fact of the footage going viral tells its own story: Many supporters were more focused on looking for signs of Mojtaba than on the grand ceremony to pay respects to the longest-serving – and perhaps the most consequential – leader in the Islamic Republic’s 47-year history.
Believed to have been wounded in the February attack by Israel and the US that killed his father, mother and wife, the new supreme leader has remained in hiding since the war began, communicating with his supporters only through written statements, never showing his face or using his voice.
Meanwhile, Iranian officials have worked to downplay his injuries and project an image of full recovery, claiming Khamenei directed Tehran’s negotiations with Washington, and building up a narrative of reverence for the young leader on the streets and in the Islamic Republic’s Newspeak.
His emergence at the funeral would have marked Khamenei’s first known public appearance since his appointment as Iran’s new supreme leader following his father’s assassination.
Ahead of the event, Israel threatened the younger Khamenei too, with Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz saying that the new supreme leader was “marked for death.”
“Given the extent of the Islamic Republic’s intelligence failures during the war, any public appearance by Mojtaba could expose him to assassination,” Mohsen Milani, a professor and author of Iran’s Rise and Rivalry with the US in the Middle East. This would jeopardize “both the succession and Tehran’s ability to negotiate with Washington or manage renewed conflict,” he added.
Despite the threats, missing the funeral fuels even further intrigue, bringing to the fore questions ranging from whether Khamenei has indeed been running the country to how bad his injuries were during the attack.
In the week of ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, AI videos purported to show Mojtaba Khamenei in disguise and walking among the mourners in Tehran to bid farewell to his father. Pro-regime journalists prophesized that he was among the crowd at the Mosalla, Tehran’s main mosque, and was “not hidden” after “excellent coordination” with the Revolutionary Guards. Others shared pictures of a beardless man in a black hat, claiming it was the republic’s new grand Ayatollah in disguise.
Hours before his father was buried in Mashhad, mourners called for the new supreme leader and chanted, “Here I am at Your service, Mojtaba,” in a declaration of allegiance.
Despite the anticipation and rumors, in the six days of commemoration across two countries for his father, mother and wife – Iran’s new supreme leader has neither appeared to lead the massive crowd of supporters, nor stood beside his brothers – Mostafa, Masoud and Meysam – to bury their father in his resting place, Mashhad.
In a sarcastic social media post, Israel’s foreign ministry mocked Khamenei for missing his father’s funeral. Alongside a picture of mourners at one of the funeral processions in Iraq carrying a poster of the new Supreme Leader, it wrote: “Mojtaba’s passionate presence at his father’s funeral ceremony in Iraq.”
Last month, President Donald Trump said the younger Khamenei was “more rational” than his father, before implicitly acknowledging that the new leader was alive but “pretty badly injured.” Iranian medical officials said Khamenei was not seriously injured in the strike. In May, US intelligence assessed that he was playing a critical role in shaping war strategy alongside senior Iranian officials.
Mojtaba’s absence from his father’s burial could leave the Islamic Republic’s opposition with a stronger belief that he’s incapacitated, and that his appointment was designed to place accountability for decision-making with a figurehead whose lack of physical presence could make his elimination impossible.
But even among the regime’s most staunch supporters, Khamenei’s absence could create doubt and open up space for once-taboo criticism amid infighting over diplomacy with Washington, which Iran’s most hardline factions oppose.
Some conservative channels inside the Islamic Republic have accused those negotiating with the West of defying Khamenei’s orders, with some fringe groups even implying a coup was executed by the negotiators – accusations that led to rocks being lobbed at Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian as they took part in the funeral march.
Khamenei’s non-appearance could increase those fractures and leave regime officials subject to further attacks.
Appearing would have been momentous, helping to establish his new reign. Ironically, his late father mocked American leaders in a 2005 speech for “disappearing” after the 9/11 attacks, declaring at the time that “if a bitter experience happens to Iran… we ourselves will don battle garb and stand ready to sacrifice.”
“The absence (of Khamenei) suggests either profound paranoia over his security or significant injuries from which has yet to recover sufficiently for a public performance,” Ali Vaez, Iran project director at the International Crisis Group, told CNN.
Arbitrator in hiding
Yet despite the rumors, the decision to not appear at the funeral was undoubtedly a calculated one. In hiding, the supreme leader could achieve the continuity which the Islamic Republic sought to establish by appointing another Khamenei, and protect the most important figure in the republic, now marked for elimination by Israel and the US.
The concept the regime seeks to protect is “Velayet e-Faqih”, or guardianship. This lies at the heart of the Islamic Republic, with the supreme leader positioned as the authority that will rule over the nation until the return of the hidden Imam – a holy man in Shiite Islam who will emerge at the end of times to bring justice to the world.
Vaez says the role of the supreme leader is to function both as a public-facing leader of the Islamic Republic and as an internal overseer of the system itself.
In practical terms, the most important task now facing the younger Khamenei is to preserve unity between the Islamic Republic’s core operators behind the scenes as they struggle to preserve a ceasefire with the US and an agreement that will unlock streams of wealth for Iran.
“The continued absence may raise some question for the regime’s core supporters, but what matters as much is what role he is playing behind the scenes arbitrating among political and security elites who may not see eye to eye on domestic and foreign policy issues,” says Vaez.
Even without a physical presence in the public sphere, the idea of a Khamenei ruling from the shadows serves to protect his authority – even if it means leaving the new supreme leader open to rumors that he’s dead, or even a cardboard cutout, according to the memes.
“Being unseen does not mean being unaccountable,” Vaez added, “either because of the power he wields in principle or that he may lack in practice.”
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