Home » Where Iran's Supreme Leader Disappeared: Khamenei Has Not Appeared in Public for 25 Days

Where Iran's Supreme Leader Disappeared: Khamenei Has Not Appeared in Public for 25 Days

by alex

The ayatollah missed important religious rituals that take place during the first month of the Islamic calendar.

Iran's 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who hid in a secret bunker after Israel's June 13 attack on Iran, has not appeared in public for 25 days, sparking speculation about his health, whereabouts and the overall stability of the theocratic regime.

This was reported by the publication Iranwire.

Khamenei's absence was particularly painful for Iranian society as he missed important religious rituals that take place during the first month of the Islamic calendar.

The publication notes that his predecessor, Ayatollah Khomeini, would never have allowed himself to be absent during Muharram (New Year), even during the worst times of the Iran-Iraq war.

In Iran in general and on social media, people are asking whether he is in hiding, has left the country, is seriously ill, or perhaps even died.

Khamanei was only seen on video

Three carefully edited videos of Khamanei's statements have been released in the past 25 days. None of them provide any credible evidence of his current whereabouts or health.

The third video in particular has caused more concern than reassurance among his supporters, prompting some social media users to pray for his recovery.

Mehdi Fazaeli, an employee of the department responsible for preserving and publishing Khamenei's works, when asked about the Supreme Leader's health, first said that “he is fine,” and then added: “We should pray. God willing, people will celebrate this victory with the Supreme Leader.”

Further suspicions have been raised by the unusual lack of new posts on Khamenei's official X (formerly Twitter) accounts. While the Persian account continues to post excerpts from past speeches, the English account has not updated since June 26.

His last tweet warned: “The Zionist regime must realize that attacking the Islamic Republic of Iran will come at great cost.”

Khamanei fled to Russia?

Some analysts speculate that Khamenei may have fled the country.

There are suggestions that it was delivered to Russia before Israeli forces gained full control over Iranian airspace, a theory fueled by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to Russia and Iran's subsequent acceptance of the ceasefire.

However, critics of this theory point out that it would be almost impossible for Khamenei to leave Iran unnoticed.

The debate continues online. One X user wrote: “Khamenei has not left Iran for two reasons: first, he knows that escaping would cost him dearly, as it has for other rulers. Second, he ultimately doesn't trust Russia either.”

Are they looking for a successor?

Some political observers suggest that Khamenei has been effectively removed from the political scene and kept out of the media to allow the public to get used to his possible absence.

This assumption is supported by the activity in the camps of Iran's chief nuclear negotiator with foreign countries, Ali Larijani, and former President Hassan Rouhani.

Rouhani has previously warned of the danger of a collapse of the regime's structure and the weakening of the clergy's power, and has sought to halt uranium enrichment to avoid provoking the West.

Larijani, who is also a former parliament speaker, has also tried to use his political influence and family connections and reportedly tried to persuade Khamenei to approve direct talks with the US, presenting himself as the “savior of Iran.”

The publication reported that two main candidates are being considered for the post of the new supreme leader. The next ruler of the theocratic state could be his son Mojtaba Khamenei or the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Hassan Khomeini.

Recall that it was previously reported that during the conflict with Israel, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei chose three high-ranking clerics who could replace him in the event of his sudden death.

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