Video: Iran releases first video of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei amid health speculation
Abdullateef Fowewe
Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency has released a 13-second, undated video purportedly showing Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in his first known visual appearance since assuming office in March.
The footage shows Khamenei seated alongside clerics during a low-key indoor meeting.
He is seen speaking and gesturing as men in clerical robes sit on rugs around him.
Mehr described the clip as a “first-time” release of the Supreme Leader, but did not state when or where it was recorded.
The release comes days after Israeli media reports claimed that Khamenei was in critical health and had been hospitalised.
The video appears intended to counter speculation about his condition and whereabouts, although its timing and authenticity as a recent recording could not be independently verified.
Khamenei succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February.
Since his appointment, the younger Khamenei has largely remained out of public view, communicating through written statements read by state media or published online rather than through live speeches or authenticated audio and video messages.
His absence was further highlighted when he did not appear at the funeral ceremonies for his father, fuelling questions about his health, security and the nature of decision-making within Iran’s leadership.
The subdued setting of the newly released video reflects the Khamenei family’s traditionally austere public image, while offering no indication of when the recording was made or whether it represents a current assessment of the Supreme Leader’s condition.
