Russia’s ambassador to Tehran says Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in Iran and is not being treated in Russia, as some rumors have suggested.
“As the Iranian leadership has stated repeatedly, the new leader is in Iran, but for obvious reasons, he is refraining from appearing in public,” Alexey Dedov tells the global Russian-language outlet RTVI.
Khamenei is the son of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike at the start of the war on February 28. The younger Khamenei has yet to appear in public after being named Iran’s leader earlier this month, and his voice has not been heard. Instead, written statements attributed to him have been carried by state media.
His failure to appear in person has led to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, as well as the extent to which he is in control of the Iranian government and military.
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
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