According to a video posted on France 24 News, on Monday July 6, 2026, Iranian-American journalist Negar Mortazavi warned that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, faces a serious ongoing security threat from Israel.
Discussing why the new leader has not appeared publicly since his father’s death, Mortazavi explained that safety concerns are likely the biggest factor behind his absence.
She said Israel had already killed his father and members of his own family in the same strike, and that the threat against him personally remains active.
In his words, Mortazavi said, “We know the new supreme leader, his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is potentially another target for assassination by Israel.
“He was also injured in the attack that killed his father and also members of his family,” she said.
Mortazavi placed this concern within a longer pattern of targeted killings carried out against Iranian officials in recent years, including senior military commanders, nuclear scientists, and even a former foreign minister.
She said this history has left Iran’s current leadership operating under what she called a wartime mentality, where normal routines, including leadership meetings and public appearances, have been altered for safety.
She explained that the risk calculation facing Mojtaba Khamenei is difficult.
Appearing in public is part of asserting leadership, she said, but doing so also increases his exposure to another possible assassination attempt, which could throw the country into a second succession crisis within less than a year.
Mortazavi added that despite his absence, the funeral itself still projected strength, with nearly all of Iran’s senior officials present, showing that the system around him remains functional even without his public presence…Discover More
Leave a Reply