Artist: Behnam Mohammadi
By: Kayhan Life Staff
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not been seen in public since June 19. His absence was conspicuous during a state funeral in Tehran on June 28, held for top commanders and nuclear scientists killed in the war with Israel—a rare omission for a leader who has long portrayed himself as steadfast in moments of national peril. He was also absent from the traditional mourning ceremony on the first night of Muharram, a staple of the Islamic Republic’s political-religious calendar.
Now, rumors swirl through Tehran’s inner circles: the Supreme Leader is in hiding, reportedly out of fear for his life. Senior officials are said to have lost contact with him altogether.
The war with Israel—which saw direct U.S. military involvement—inflicted a devastating blow to the Islamic Republic’s power structure. More than 30 senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed. Precision strikes targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, severely damaging sites believed to be enriching near-weapons-grade uranium. Key nuclear scientists, many long protected by the regime, were assassinated.
Despite the scale of the damage, Khamenei remained silent for days after a ceasefire took hold. When he finally spoke, it was through a pre-recorded, tightly stage-managed video address.
This stands in sharp contrast to his own words nearly two decades ago. On March 21, 2005, in a speech to pilgrims in Mashhad during Nowruz celebrations, Khamenei declared: “If this nation is tested by a bitter experience, I will wear battle fatigues and be ready to sacrifice myself at the head of the nation.”
He also mocked American leaders for retreating from view after the September 11 attacks. “There was no news of U.S. President George W. Bush or his deputies for two or three days. They went into hiding. I am not like that,” he said during a nationally televised address.
Even more striking is a remark he made amid the post-election unrest in 2009, after Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election sparked massive street protests. “If anyone acts against the system, a hard slap awaits them. There will be no safe haven, not even a mouse hole,” Khamenei warned.
Now, at 86, those words appear to have come full circle. As the regime reels from war and internal turmoil, its supreme leader is holed up in a bunker, out of sight and out of reach.
