Overview
- CBS News reports that U.S. intelligence briefed President Trump that Ali Khamenei viewed his son as unqualified and “not very bright,” adding new pressure on the succession just a week after the Assembly of Experts installed Mojtaba as supreme leader.
- Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since his appointment, issuing only a written message on state TV, and U.S. officials have publicly questioned whether he is alive; Washington has offered up to $10 million for information on his location and key Iranian officials.
- Conflicting accounts of his condition persist, with the U.S. defense secretary saying he is wounded and likely disfigured, Indian intelligence described as assessing he is alive but severely injured with communications tightly controlled, and Iran’s foreign minister insisting he is in full health.
- An interview quoted Iran’s ambassador to Cyprus saying Mojtaba suffered limb injuries in the Feb. 28 strike and remains under treatment, while a Kuwaiti report claiming he was secretly flown to Russia for surgery remains unverified by Tehran or Moscow and flagged in fact-checks as unconfirmed.
- U.S. and Israeli assessments indicate the IRGC is driving key decisions during the transition, and an Israeli security official said authorities know the new leader’s location as the regional war and information campaigns intensify.