According to Israeli national security officials, Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is perceived as lacking influence and authority within the regime.
Mojtaba is the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died following a precision Israeli strike on February 28. Sources also indicate that he is associated with what they term as a dysfunctional government.
Kobi Michael, a defense expert from the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, commented to Fox News Digital, “The new leader is essentially a nonentity.”
Michael elaborated, “Mojtaba Khamenei remains out of the public eye, and credible reports suggest he neither governs nor directs the remnants of the regime.”
The analyst further described the Iranian leadership as “fractured, bewildered, and nearly ineffective.”
During a funeral procession on March 11, 2026, in Tehran, Iran, a mourner holds an image of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as supreme leader. The event commemorated the death of senior Iranian military officials and civilians in a U.S.-Israel military campaign. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)
Mojtaba reportedly escaped death by minutes when his father was killed Feb. 28, leaving the compound for a walk shortly before an Israeli missile strike, according to leaked audio accessed by The Telegraph.
The audio, reportedly from a March 12 meeting, revealed details about the strikes that also took out several members of the Khamenei family.
Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol for Khamenei’s office, is supposedly heard in the audio telling senior leaders that Mojtaba sustained “a minor injury to his leg.”
Since being named supreme leader, Mojtaba has not made one public appearance. Instead, a message by him was read on Iranian state TV, warning of continued strikes and urging Gulf nations to shut down U.S. bases.
Iranian Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, a senior officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who commands Basij forces (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File; Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images, File)
Other reports claimed Mojtaba was in critical condition or even in a coma, though Iranian officials have insisted that the new supreme leader is in good health.
Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge Wednesday after the killing of senior security official Ali Larijani in an Israeli strike.
“Such acts of terror only reflect the enemies’ hostility and will strengthen the resolve of the Islamic nation. Undoubtedly, justice will be served,” the statement said.
Larijani, one of Iran’s top security figures, was killed after Israeli intelligence reportedly located him and other officials on the outskirts of Tehran.
Other senior figures have also been killed in recent strikes, including Basij militia leader Gholamreza Soleimani, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“This is not a new phase, but a continuing effort and a very successful and impressive one and a crucial component of the strategy meant to weaken the Iranian regime,” Michael said of the continued strikes at regime figures.
“This is to the degree that it will not be able to reconstitute itself and/or to become again a severe threat and destabilizing player in the broader Middle East.”
President Donald Trump boards Air Force One Wednesday, March 18, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
After the opening U.S.-Israeli strikes, President Donald Trump told the Iranian people that their “moment of freedom” was at hand.
“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said, suggesting the U.S. would help bring down the Iranian regime.
“At the very same time, by weakening the regime and paralyzing its capacities generally speaking and its domestic control specifically, the U.S. and Israel are facilitating the required conditions for the Iranian people to topple the regime,” Michael added.
“This is the ultimate victory in their eyes, and the route to this destination is that they are trying to increase any damage wherever they can.”
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