As Mojtaba Khamenei Still Remains Out of Sight, Mohsen Rezaee Named Supreme Leader’s Representative

TEHRAN, Aug 9: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday appointed senior military adviser Mohsen Rezaee as his representative to the Supreme National Security Council, the country’s highest security body, amid growing questions over Khamenei’s limited public visibility since taking office.

“Considering your valuable experience, I am hereby appointing you, who were one of the first commanders in the triumphant 8-Year Sacred Defense, to be my representative in the Supreme National Security Council,” Khamenei said in a post on X. Iran uses the term “Sacred Defense” for the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq War. Rezaee commanded the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from 1981 to 1997 and is currently a member of the Expediency Discernment Council. Khamenei appointed him as his military adviser in March.

The appointment comes as speculation continues over Mojtaba Khamenei’s whereabouts and ability to directly exercise authority. The new Supreme Leader has remained largely out of public view and, according to reports and comments attributed to Iranian officials, has had little direct contact with senior figures since assuming the position. Iranian state-linked media on Sunday circulated an old video purportedly showing Khamenei active, but fact-checkers questioned the footage and said it was archival material rather than a recent recording. His reported absence from public events, including his father’s funeral, has further fueled questions about who is currently making key decisions in his name.

The uncertainty has raised a broader question inside and outside Iran: if Mojtaba Khamenei is not publicly meeting officials or communicating directly, who is effectively making the decisions being announced under his authority? The appointment of Rezaee, a veteran IRGC commander with decades of experience in Iran’s military and political establishment, could provide an important clue to the power structure operating around the Supreme Leader, although there has been no official indication that anyone else is exercising his constitutional powers.