Russia has said that Ayatollah Sayyid Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father as Iran’s supreme leader, is currently in Iran.
In an interview with Russian outlet RTVI, Alexey Dedov, Russia’s ambassador to Iran, was asked whether he had been in contact with the new supreme leader. He replied, “As Iran’s leadership has repeatedly stated, the new leader is in Iran.”
Dedov added that he had not yet spoken with the new supreme leader and said that, for various reasons, the leader has stayed out of public view.
After Iran’s former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the 28th of last month in airstrikes by the U.S. and Israel, the Assembly of Experts — Iran’s constitutional body of 88 members — held an emergency session and on the 8th of this month elected Ali’s second son, Mojtaba, as his successor.
But Mojtaba has not appeared publicly or released any audio, prompting Western officials to give credence to suggestions that he may have been wounded in the strike.
Some even circulated rumors that he had been transferred to Russia; Dedov’s comments appeared intended to dismiss those reports.
Dedov emphasized that Russian President Vladimir Putin was among the first to send a congratulatory message to Mojtaba, framing it as an expression of continued support for Tehran and solidarity with Iran’s allies.
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Hye-jun Lim (junelim@yna.co.kr)
