Iran's Unseen Supreme Leader Resurfaces With Gulf Message
Iran's Unseen Supreme Leader Resurfaces With Gulf Message
The News
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, told the rulers of the Gulf States in a written message Sunday to "identify their real enemy and understand the plans to confront it."
The statement, published on Khamenei's Telegram account to mark the birth anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad, also called for "unity among Muslims," mutual defense against enemies and cooperation among Muslims worldwide, according to Reuters and the Jerusalem Post.
It landed as a written text, not an appearance. Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was injured in the US-Israeli airstrikes six months ago that launched the war, the New York Post reported.
Timeline
The New York Post reported Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying signs pointed to Iran's then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, being no longer alive. He was killed in the strikes, and his son Mojtaba Khamenei took the role.
The New York Post reported that Iran's missing supreme leader had suffered severe and disfiguring wounds.
Iranian state media circulated undated video of Mojtaba Khamenei, a still from which the Jerusalem Post published with its report.
The written message to Gulf rulers appears on Khamenei's Telegram account, timed to the Prophet Muhammad's birth anniversary.
Reactions
Khamenei's own words are the only direct quotes the sources carry: the call to "identify their real enemy and understand the plans to confront it," and the appeal for "unity among Muslims."
The message does not name the enemy. Reuters, the Jerusalem Post and the New York Post all reported the phrasing without an Iranian elaboration of who is meant.
There was no immediate response from Gulf governments in the sources available.
What's Next
The Jerusalem Post described the story as still developing. The open question is whether Iran follows a written statement with any proof of life — a public appearance or dated video of the supreme leader — after six months out of sight.
More
Why it matters to Americans: the man Iran now calls supreme leader was wounded in strikes carried out by the United States and Israel, and his first widely reported message in months is an appeal to Gulf states — several of them US security partners — to line up against a common adversary.
The Frank is reporting only what the three sources on this story support. Details about Khamenei's condition and whereabouts remain thinly sourced.
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