‘Beyond weird’: CIA, Mossad said looking for signs of Mojtaba Khamenei as he remains unseen

The US Central Intelligence Agency, Israel’s Mossad and other intelligence bodies are working to detect signs of Mojtaba Khamenei as he remains unseen since being declared the Islamic Republic of Iran’s new supreme leader following the assassination of his father, according to the Axios news site.

The report says spy agencies were on the lookout for Khamenei to release a video statement for Nowruz as his father traditionally did, though only a written statement was ultimately issued.

“We have no evidence that he is really the one giving orders,” a senior Israeli official is quoted as saying, while a US official describes the situation as “beyond weird.”

“We don’t think the Iranians would have gone through all this trouble to choose a dead guy as the supreme leader, but at the same time, we have no proof that he is taking the helm,” the US official adds.

A US official also tells Axios that the CIA is working to verify whether photos of Khamenei that were released alongside his Nowruz note are recent and notes that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian put out a video statement.

“We would have expected to see Mojtaba too in some form. He didn’t take advantage of the opportunity and tradition,” the official says. “It’s a big red flag.”