Iran's new supreme leader absent, fueling uncertainty

The prolonged and unexplained public absence of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is fueling uncertainty and raising questions about the stability of the Islamic Republic's leadership during a period of renewed regional conflict and internal challenges. Khamenei has not been seen publicly since his appointment by a clerical assembly on March 8, which came one week after a strike that killed his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the end of February.

Senior sources say the new leader suffered facial disfigurement and other injuries in the attack that killed his father and has not yet been well enough to appear in public, though he has been making decisions. His absence was starkly apparent during the main funeral ceremonies for his father, where he provided no written message or recorded statement. The burial, which took place on Thursday, July 9, was conducted by his three brothers at Iran's holiest shrine, highlighting the ruling family's central role. A mourning ceremony on Friday, July 10, featured Ali Khomeini, a grandson of the revolution's founder, speaking on Mojtaba Khamenei's behalf.

The last official update on his condition came from...