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As the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Khamenei approaches, his second son and successor Mujtaba has made many new moves on social media.

Since June, the official Persian-language social media account in Mujtaba has been “sun-screened”. On 2 June, the account shared a picture of Mujtaba carrying a baby and smiling. This is a photo of the leader of the “unusual” revolution. On 3 June, a picture of Mujetaba travelling side by side with his father Khamenei was tanned.

The timing and location of these photographs are not known. The baby in Mujtaba's arms is wearing a green dress, a net turban and a forehead belt, which will usually appear only on the occasion of Ashura.

A photo of Mujtaba and Khamenei was released on the anniversary of Mohamed’s sermon. According to the Shia interpretation, on this day of the history of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad appointed his cousin and son-in-law Ali as his successor.

In the first air strike in late February, the 56-year-old Mujetaba lost several relatives, including his parents, his wife and others, and he himself was injured in the attack and has not yet appeared publicly.

According to Iranian media reports, the funeral of Khamenei will take place in mid-June and will be observed in Tehran, Al-Quds Al-Shia Al-Quds Al-Sharif and in Mashhad, the homeland of Khamenei.

It is not clear whether Mujtaba will complete his first public appearance at the funeral site. He remains at the forefront of the list of Israeli assassinations, and the risk of public appearance remains high.

Before the ceasefire, more than 40 Iranian officials were “targeted” by Israel. In mid-March, the Secretary of the Supreme State Security Council of Iran, Larijani, was killed in an air strike after attending a public meeting. It has also been reported that Israel has continued to lobby the United States for the assassination of Iran ' s chief negotiator, Kalibaf.

Local time, on 3 June, Mujtaba's social media official account published a never-public photo of Khamenei's father and son

Continuous "invisibility"

Upon his father ' s election as Supreme Leader in March, Mujtaba opened an account on a social media platform. His Persian account has so far published over 150 items, more active than many Iranian officials. National unity, resilience and revenge are the key words frequently mentioned in these posters.

To date, Mujtaba has not appeared publicly and has not published any audio or video messages. Statements and letters on his behalf are read out through the national television anchor. He delivered the most detailed written statement since he took office in late May on the occasion of the Gurban Festival. In this 14-page message, Mujetaba stated that the United States “has no safe haven in the region for aggression and military bases”. He also commended the Front de résistance (FRPI) for “defeating the lives of Israel”.

Despite the continuous flow of text, the persistence of the “invisibility” of Mujtaba has given rise to much speculation. Some doubt that he is unconscious or even dead.

Upon graduation from Mujtaba High School, he joined the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and served in the final stages of the Iran War (Iran Screenshot social accounts)

The New York Times quoted Iranian officials at the end of April to report that Mujtaba had undergone three leg surgeries and was awaiting the installation of prostheses. In addition, he had severe burns on his face and lips and required facial reconstruction surgery.

The Tehran side subsequently refuted these claims. According to Mazahr Hosseini, a senior official in the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, Mujtaba suffered from a kneecap and back injury, but was largely healed and in good health.

“The enemy is trying to obtain his audio or video recordings under various pretexts for their abuse.” In an interview with the Noor News Agency under the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Husseini reassured the public that, when the time came, Mujtaba would “come and speak with you all in person”.

When the United States and Iran entered the negotiating phase, there was a clear disagreement within Iran as to the extent to which concessions should be made. The ultra-hardlines believe that Iran’s chief negotiator, Kalibaf, and his negotiating team have been too compromiseful to the United States. They wrote in social media asking Mughtaba to publish at least one voice message to demonstrate support for the negotiations.

In the past, the Supreme Leader of Iran has been the final arbiter of national security decisions. Khomeini had compared the decision to end the Iran-Iraq war to “drinking poison”. Khamenei has also suppressed the opposition of ultra-hardlines and publicly supported the Iranian nuclear negotiations that culminated in the 2015 agreement.

In early May, Iranian reformist President Pezehiziang indicated that he had had two and a half hours of talks with Mujtaba. This was the first time that Mujetaba had met with senior officials since his successor. Pezehiziang said that Mujetaba had been “grateful and humble” and had engaged in a frank, calm and mutually trusted dialogue. He did not reveal what they had specifically talked about or who was involved, but stressed that the exchange was “unintermediated at all”.

The late Al-Quds Brigade commander, Sulaymani (lower row) and Mujtaba (lower row to the right), took photographs of Iran Screenshot during the Iran War.

"Getting more active"

U.S. intelligence remains unable to confirm where Mujtaba is. CNN reported that it was difficult for the intelligence community to judge the situation in Mughtaba, in part because he was in contact with the outside world almost without electronic means, only with those who could see him in person or by messenger.

However, the United States intelligence service assessed that Mujtaba was participating with a number of senior Iranian officials in the development of a war strategy. However, the report also notes that in the current power structure, it remains unclear who the ultimate players are.

At the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on 2 June, United States Secretary of State Rubio stated that there were indications that Mujtaba was “increasingly” participating in negotiations between the United States and Iraq. According to Rubio, although Iran had agreed to negotiate a nuclear programme, he could not guarantee an agreement acceptable to the Senate and the American people.

At the time of the above-mentioned statements by Rubio, there were reports that Iran had withdrawn from the negotiations to extend the current ceasefire agreement because of Israeli incursions into Lebanon, which violated the terms of the agreement.

According to United States media reports, Trump, after having learned about the IDF invasion of Lebanon, had a violent altercation with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu over the telephone, in which he was "crazed". In an interview on 3 June, Trump confirmed that it was true and stated that he was “a little agitated” and “disturbed” about Netanyahu's continued engagement with Lebanon.

Trump also expressed his willingness to meet Mujetaba in the above-mentioned interview with the New York Post podcast, stating that his future was “probably” to talk to his counterpart. “I haven't had the pleasure to meet him yet but we seem to fit in.”

Journalist: Chan Jia Lin

Editor: Xu Fangqing