The hidden leader of Iran during war

He is the second son of the late ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a secretive back‑room official who was said to have great power behind his father's desk.

Even with that power, his father did not want him to take over the rule he built for many years with a hard hand.

Analysts Saeid Golkar and Kasra Aarabi wrote in 2022 that Khamenei knew naming his son would cause division, chaos and trouble, the opposite of a smooth hand‑over.

On a bright February morning, bombs and missiles fell on Iran, destroying those plans.

War, weak growth, water and power cuts, a falling currency and losing allies left Iran scrambling for a leader at a dangerous time.

Soon the remaining power‑brokers ignored the old leader’s wishes and chose one of Khamenei’s sons.

Experts said picking Mojtaba was meant to keep the system steady and to defy an enemy seeking regime change.

Many doubted the younger Khamenei could be the third supreme leader and protector of the revolution.

Bozorgmehr Sharafedin told ABC that Mojtaba began his rule from a bunker, making his early leadership very weak.

Six months later he is still missing in public; even senior officials say they have never seen him.

An Iranian ambassador said Mojtaba was hurt in the February attack, with injuries to his legs, hand and arm.

Farzan Sabet said the country’s leader is hiding in the nation he should rule, which is a deep truth.

His continued absence has sparked rumors about his health and whether others are writing statements for him.

Several Iranians told ABC they think he is dead.

From recent social media posts and accounts inside Iran, we have learned about the mysterious leader and how his long absence affects a nation at war.

The missing Mojtaba

Inside Iran, Mojtaba has been hidden from the public for the whole six‑month conflict.

US officials say he is likely in a secret shelter with little outside contact and limited ways to send messages.

A security source said he avoids devices to stay hidden and uses couriers for written notes, which has slowed his communication.

“Every piece of information he gets is dated and his replies are very slow,” a US official told CBS.

His extreme caution shows Iran learned from early intelligence failures that led to the ayatollah’s death and many senior deaths.

Foreign Minister Abbas Aragnchi said the US and Israel knew meetings were planned on Feb 28, showing a serious security breach that may still exist.

The UK Times reported Israel and the US used surveillance and hacked traffic cameras to track the late ayatollah for their opening strikes.

Mojtaba wants to avoid the same fate, and a senior official warned the US and Israel try to get audio or video of him to misuse it.

Until that day comes, the regime tries to make Mojtaba’s presence felt on Tehran streets and online.

After his rise, large billboards showed Ali Khamenei handing the national flag to his son, symbolising power passing to a new generation.

Images of Mojtaba holding a baby or a gun have spread online, many appearing to be AI‑generated or edited, as he is rarely photographed.

Official Instagram, Telegram and X accounts for Mojtaba opened on March 12; his X handle means “leader of the revolution.”

Posts on these accounts and his written statements are among the few ways people try to understand his personality and war approach.

Most of the 170 X posts aim at the loyal base; he promises to avenge his father, to stop misuse of the Strait of Hormuz, and calls for unity against the enemy.

Analysts said it is unclear if Mojtaba wrote these messages, noting spelling and structure errors that do not match his education level.

“When knowledge is missing, people start guessing,” said analyst Dara Conduit.

The mystery around the leader has only grown in recent months.

‘Shouldn’t I be able to see my leader?’

A supreme leader hiding during war is not new in the Islamic Republic.

Last year, during a 12‑day war with Israel, Ali Khamenei stayed in a secure spot inside Iran and avoided public appearances for safety.

From that safe place he sent pre‑recorded messages to calm followers and returned after the war ended.

Mojtaba has not released a video or audio in almost 200 days.

Trita Parsi said this raises questions about whether he is alive, wounded, disfigured, or simply hiding for security.

Few claim to have seen Mojtaba since his appointment; Foreign Minister Araghchi said only a small group has access.

One of those is President Masoud Pezeshkian, who said in May he spent two and a half hours with Mojtaba.

He did not say when or where they met but described the talk as direct, frank and full of trust.

They reportedly met again in late July or early August and discussed many national issues.

These messages have not removed public doubts; many still question the ayatollah’s “very suspicious” absence.

After many assassinations of top officials and a supreme leader unseen since the war began, a key question is who really runs Iran?

Leila, a Tehran resident, asked, “Shouldn’t I be able to see my leader after six or seven months?”

“Shouldn’t he appear, speak, let us hear his plans for the future?”

“Every day I wait for a short five‑ or ten‑minute video. Anything. I must see my leader.”

When Mojtaba did not appear at Nowruz, some hoped he would show during his father’s week‑long funeral; his three brothers attended, but he was absent.

A frustrated Tehran resident said, “We don’t know who he is, where he is, or if he is alive,” during the funeral.

Another resident, Shadi, said, “Some say he escaped, others say he’s dead.”

Someone claimed, “It is possible Mojtaba does not exist and the guards use his name for their own purposes.”

Rumours and AI jokes surround Mojtaba.

The Atlantic this week cited inside sources saying Mojtaba may have died from his war injuries.

IranWire reported rumours at the highest regime levels that he is on his deathbed.

“I don’t think he’s dead,” US President Donald Trump told radio host Glenn Beck about the Atlantic report.

Trump said US negotiators need Mojtaba’s approval; if he is dead, “they’re putting on a pretty good show,” he added.

Pro‑Iran accounts have shared video of Mojtaba sitting on a floor in an unknown place speaking to Iran’s president.

No date was given; the video lacks a clear AI watermark, but signs of AI generation appear, like noise on a fan and warped wall lines.

AI‑generated photos of the younger Khamenei have added more confusion, earning him the nickname “AI supreme leader.”

Dr Sabet said, “People make many jokes about him and mock him.”

“Iranians love jokes. The more they joke, the less seriously they take him as a political figure.”

Besides the social media videos, state‑linked media released footage this month that they say shows Mojtaba Khamenei.

Fars News posted footage of the supreme leader leading a religious study session, saying it was recorded before he became supreme leader.

Earlier, an undated 15‑second clip from Mehr News seemed to show Mojtaba speaking with a group of men.

Conduit said, “If he does not show his face soon, more people will ask, ‘Where is he? Why isn’t he talking? Why haven’t we seen him?’”

Iran’s strategic goals are not in question.

Trump has repeatedly said that after the elder Khamenei’s death Iran has undergone regime change.

He first called Tehran’s negotiators “reasonable,” but now says the leadership is divided and they do not know who controls the country.

Dr Sabet said the regime has not fundamentally changed, but there has been some “regime modification” since February.

He noted the war created a new leadership partially willing to make a deal, pointing to the recent US‑Iran memorandum.

He added that since late June the group is not yet strong enough to push the system to negotiate and accept the deal.

Divisions in Iran’s regime have existed for a while but became public as Iran entered US talks.

One side is the anti‑engagement group, including parts of the IRGC, opposed to US diplomacy; the other side are pragmatists like Pezeshkian and Araghchi who favour a deal while keeping leverage over the Strait of Hormuz.

“There are splits in the system, but they are tactical, not strategic. Iran’s strategic goals are clear; the splits are about how to achieve them,” said Dr Parsi.

Most governments, democratic or not, have internal splits, but analysts say Iran’s factions agree on the existential fight to keep the revolution alive.

Mojtaba’s few written messages reinforce this point, though analysts say his absence makes him seem more a symbolic figure than the war, negotiation and security director.

Earlier this month the supreme leader oversaw the biggest government reshuffle since taking power.

The new appointments, mostly senior IRGC generals from the Iran‑Iraq War era, were seen as a move to strengthen Mojtaba and his inner circle’s authority.

The appointments suggest the supreme leader is building his own “wartime architecture,” wrote Sina Toossi of the Center for International Policy.

“Diplomacy remains part of the plan, but these moves show it is pursued expecting continued conflict, not because Tehran believes the war is truly over,” he added.

The 60‑day US‑Iran cease‑fire deal ended in mid‑August, and attempts to revive a peace deal have so far failed.

The Islamic Republic is currently in a stronger position at home and regionally, thanks to Trump and Israel’s war, said Dr Parsi.

However, many simmering problems could topple the regime in the future.

“The war began six months ago and we have lived in a precarious balance between war and peace, agreements and negotiations, plus heavy economic pressure,” said a 30‑something Tehran resident, Arash.

While the regime focuses on fighting and suppressing dissent, Dr Sabet said major economic challenges remain, raising the risk of new shocks the system must handle.

He believes a slow‑motion state failure is happening in Iran, but it is hard to know when it might collapse.

“It could be in six months, fifteen years, or twenty‑eight years,” he said.

Above all, Mojtaba’s absence hangs like a dark cloud, threatening the regime’s image of stability and raising questions about who truly holds power and what they plan next.