He’s supposedly in charge of the Islamic Republic of Iran after the U.S.-Israel airstrikes of Operation Epic Fury/Operation Roaring Lion wiped out former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and virtually the entire command structure of Iran.

His name is Mojtaba Khamenei, he’s the son of the recently vaporized Ayatollah, and he was named the new Supreme Leader by the country’s “Assembly of Experts” in early March. Reports indicate that he may be gay and that his father wasn’t particularly impressed with his intellectual capacity.

Trump reportedly burst out laughing when briefed that Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei may be gay.

The intelligence was sourced from one of the CIA's most protected assets.

His father allegedly considered it a disqualifying factor for leadership.

The CIA thinks they… pic.twitter.com/3m1ujRHyXp

— Mike Netter (@nettermike) March 17, 2026

The CIA thinks they know why.

The question remains, however: is he even alive, and if so, where the hell is he? He has made no public appearances and his statements have only been read aloud by others, not delivered by he himself.

Iranian regime used AI on image of new Supreme Leader Motjaba Khamenei as he remains hidden from public.

The AI-altered image, used by Iranian state TV outlets, comes amid reports he is in a coma and had a leg amputated following the strike which took out his father. pic.twitter.com/ZSzknuQtBg

— Oli London (@OliLondonTV) March 13, 2026

His most noteworthy accomplishment would seem to be that he’s inadvertently become the king of memes, as content creators on social media have had a field day with his alleged homosexual proclivities and his status as nothing more than a cardboard leader.

Iranian President and Cardboard Supreme Leader Issue Weird, Unhinged New Year's Statements

'Gayatollah' Is Now a Thing: Internet Erupts As Possibly Dead New Supreme Leader of Iran Was Maybe LGBTQ

Instead of playing Where’s Wally, however, intelligence experts are left to wonder, where’s Mojtaba?

In his first, fiery address to the Iranian nation on March 12, new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to “avenge the blood of our martyrs” and to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed. That message of defiance wasn’t delivered by Khamenei himself: It was read out on state television by a female news anchor.

Since then, the mystery surrounding Khamenei’s whereabouts and well-being has only deepened. Khamenei hasn’t appeared in public, nor has the Iranian government issued new images of him or even recordings of his voice.

The pictures that have been released often show Khamenei in clearly fictional scenes for propaganda purposes. Many photos of him appear to have been generated or modified by artificial intelligence, according to analysis by The Wall Street Journal and scholars of Iran’s visual imagery. 

??BREAKING: Iran made a cardboard cut-out of their old Supreme leader due to the new Supreme Leader skipping his appearance due to fears of being killed.

pic.twitter.com/TCILpFKVmN

— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) March 10, 2026

Let me just go out on a limb here: if the guy were alive and sentient, what’s left of the embattled regime would certainly get him on video, at the very least. Even Osama Bin Laden was able to make a taped statement now and then as he was hiding in his Pakistani compound waiting for American forces to come shoot him in the left eye.

It would seem Motjaba is “misfunctioning”:

Iran's New Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei 'Misfunctioning,' Not in Control

Why would you bother naming a dead guy as your leader? That’s what’s puzzling the experts:

"We have no evidence that [Mojtaba] is really the one giving orders," a senior Israeli official told Axios.

"It's beyond weird. We don't think the Iranians would have gone through all this trouble to choose a dead guy as the supreme leader, but at the same time, we have no proof that he is taking the helm," a U.S. official said.

The mullahs have always been mysterious and, quite frankly, strange, but this is weird even for them. It’s reason number 801,729 why the world will be a better place when they’re no longer in it.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

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