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Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has remained virtually invisible since taking power nearly six months ago, fueling mounting speculation over whether he is gravely ill, incapacitated or even dead — and prompting broader questions about who is currently exercising ultimate authority in Iran.

The uncertainty grew considerably after Khamenei failed to appear last week at a wake in Tehran that, according to the official schedule, he was supposed to host. The Atlantic reported Tuesday on the widening mystery surrounding the Iranian leader.

His failure to attend the gathering has added to questions about both his location and physical condition as Iran navigates an especially precarious political and security environment.

According to The Atlantic, Iran has not released any photograph, video or audio recording that can definitively be established as having been made since Mojtaba Khamenei became supreme leader. Some of the country’s most senior officials have reportedly admitted that they have not personally seen him during that period, among them Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who also serves on Iran’s National Security Council.

The extraordinary absence has helped fuel speculation in Iran and abroad that Khamenei may have been badly wounded during the February U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, along with a number of other senior Iranian officials.

There has been no independent verification of those claims.

Tehran, meanwhile, has consistently maintained that Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and in good health. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian previously sought to put the rumors to rest by saying that he had participated in an extended and productive meeting with the supreme leader, whom he described as “completely healthy.”

Media outlets linked to the Iranian government have similarly sought to dispel the growing rumors by publishing footage said to show Khamenei. On Tuesday, Fars News aired archival video reportedly filmed before his elevation to supreme leader, the second time this month that such older footage has been released.

Iran’s semiofficial Mehr News agency had previously published an undated recording in which Mojtaba Khamenei appeared healthy.

The releases, however, have done little to answer the fundamental mystery: why Iran’s supreme leader has not appeared publicly and why authorities have failed to produce a clearly current recording showing him speaking directly to the Iranian public.

The questions surrounding Khamenei come as Iran remains under enormous political and military strain after months of confrontation with the United States and Israel. Mojtaba Khamenei was elevated to Iran’s highest political and religious position after his father was killed in the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.

The uncertainty over Khamenei’s status is reportedly affecting the Iranian government’s ability to function as well. According to The Atlantic, the apparent leadership vacuum has complicated Tehran’s efforts to settle consequential disagreements, including disputes over talks with Washington and growing friction among rival factions within the Iranian regime.

With uncertainty surrounding the supreme leader’s role, Iran’s National Security Council has reportedly taken on greater importance as a venue for collective decisions. That development has fueled additional questions over how much power Khamenei is actually wielding, assuming he remains actively involved in governing.

The stakes are particularly high because Iran’s supreme leader occupies the ultimate position of power within the Islamic Republic. If Khamenei is incapacitated for an extended period — or has died — Iran could face another battle over succession while already confronting military setbacks, economic difficulties and significant divisions within its political establishment.

Reports questioning Khamenei’s health have surfaced before. Earlier this month, IranWire, citing sources with connections to the Pezeshkian administration, reported that high-ranking officials were increasingly worried about his condition and that talk of his possible imminent death was circulating at the uppermost levels of the Iranian government.

Khamenei’s allies have dismissed the reports, while Iranian authorities have continued efforts to portray the supreme leader as healthy and fully capable of carrying out his duties.

{Matzav.com}

IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir vowed Tuesday that Israel will press ahead with its campaign to dismantle Hamas and demilitarize Gaza, declaring that every terrorist involved in the October 7 massacre will ultimately be tracked down and eliminated.

Zamir made the remarks during a visit to IDF forces operating in Gaza, where he was joined by Southern Command Chief Maj. Gen. Yaniv Asor, Gaza Division Commander Brig. Gen. Liron Bitito, as well as brigade and battalion commanders serving in the area.

As part of the tour, the chief of staff met with commanders on the ground and received detailed briefings regarding the current operational picture and the activities being carried out by Israeli forces throughout the region.

Zamir thanked the soldiers and commanders for their continued operations in Gaza and their efforts to protect Israeli civilians. Looking back at the nearly three years of fighting since the October 7 attack, he said: “In about a month and a half, we will mark three years since October 7. Three years in which the IDF has faced a complex, continuous, multi-front campaign-in Gaza, Judea and Samaria, Lebanon, Syria, Iran, and additional arenas.”

Discussing the scope of the war and the IDF’s accomplishments across the different theaters, Zamir added: “This is a very significant challenge for the IDF, and we have achieved extraordinary results on every front and in every sector. Our forces have prevailed in every battle, significantly weakened all our enemies, and struck their capabilities and infrastructure. We continue to prepare and remain vigilant on all fronts, understanding that the campaign is not over.”

Turning specifically to the war in Gaza, Zamir emphasized that the military remains committed to eliminating Hamas’s capabilities and preventing the terrorist organization from reconstituting itself.

“In Gaza, we are not giving up on the overriding objective-demilitarizing Gaza and dismantling Hamas, using all necessary means. We continue to systematically target Hamas and its leaders wherever they are, as part of an ongoing campaign to prevent it from rebuilding its strength.”

Zamir also made clear that Israel’s effort to locate and eliminate those responsible for the October 7 atrocities remains an active and long-term mission.

“The pursuit of the October 7 terrorists continues. Anyone who took part in the massacre will be hunted down until they are all eliminated. This is a long-term mission to which the command and the entire IDF are committed.”

According to Zamir, the failures surrounding October 7 have also led to a fundamental shift in the IDF’s approach to threats against Israel, with the military determined not to return to the policies that existed before the attack.

“Our message is clear: We investigated and are learning the lessons. The IDF will not return to the concepts we experienced on October 6. There will be no containment of threats.”

Zamir said the new approach means acting against emerging dangers before terrorist organizations are able to strengthen themselves or establish new infrastructure.

“We will not allow the enemy to rebuild itself, we will not allow terrorist infrastructure to become established, and we will act whenever possible to eliminate threats as they emerge,” he said.

Addressing the concerns of Israelis living near areas threatened by terrorist activity, Zamir said the military is attentive to residents and remains positioned between the communities and potential threats.

“We are listening to the voices of the residents, understand their concerns, and will know how to reach anyone behind a threat against them,” Zamir said. “Our forces are deployed on the front lines ahead of the communities and continue to thwart terrorist infrastructure and terrorists.”

Zamir also pointed to the rapid redeployment of IDF units between Israel’s different fronts. He recalled meeting commanders from the Givati Brigade and the 401st Brigade along the northern border only about three months earlier, before those forces returned to operations in Gaza.

“Now you are here, continuing to deepen the achievements in Gaza. Southern Command and the division continue to precisely thwart threats whenever the opportunity arises.”

Concluding his remarks, Zamir praised both active-duty and reserve troops for the results achieved on the battlefield, while acknowledging the extraordinary demands that the prolonged war has placed on reservists and their families.

“There are tremendous achievements here, based on the determined and uncompromising activity of the forces on the ground. This is also not the first time I have met the reservist battalion of the 11th Brigade. The battalion is mobilized for 90 days in this round. I am aware of the extraordinary burden on reservists and their families. We are committed to continuing to act on your behalf.”

{Matzav.com}

Hadar Cohen, the premature infant delivered by emergency Caesarean section after her mother was killed in a devastating car accident six weeks ago, died Tuesday at Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital, bringing a heartbreaking end to a 42-day battle for her life.

Hadar’s mother, Tzofia Cohen, was killed in the serious collision while approximately 30 weeks pregnant. Following the crash, doctors at Assuta Ashdod performed an emergency Caesarean section in an effort to save her unborn child.

The baby was delivered at just 30 weeks and immediately admitted to the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit. For the next six weeks, doctors and other medical personnel provided intensive treatment as they worked to keep the critically premature infant alive.

Hospital officials said Hadar underwent complicated and intensive treatment throughout the 42 days following her birth. Despite the efforts of the medical staff, her condition ultimately could not be overcome, and she was pronounced dead Tuesday.

“It is with great sorrow that we announce the passing of the premature baby Hadar Cohen,” Assuta Ashdod Public Hospital said. “Since her birth, the neonatal intensive care teams fought for her life and provided her with dedicated and complex medical treatment. Sadly, she passed away today.”

The hospital expressed its condolences to Hadar’s grieving relatives, who have now suffered the loss of both mother and child within a span of six weeks.

“Assuta Ashdod Hospital shares in the family’s profound grief at this difficult time.”

Following the original crash, Magen David Adom motorcycle unit emergency medical technician Yisrael Meir Gayan described arriving at a scene where two vehicles had collided head-on and both had suffered significant front-end damage.

“This was a head-on collision between two vehicles. The vehicles had sustained damage to their front ends. A woman approximately 30 years old had an altered level of consciousness and was suffering from multiple injuries to her body. Four other people from the vehicles were walking around at the scene and had sustained minor injuries. We provided everyone with medical treatment and evacuated them by ambulance to the hospital for further examinations and treatment.”

{Matzav.com}

CIA Director John Ratcliffe made an unannounced trip to Moscow on Tuesday, according to multiple reports, solving at least part of the mystery surrounding a U.S. military transport plane that flew from the Washington area to the Russian capital.

Ratcliffe reportedly traveled aboard a C-17 transport aircraft that originated at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington, a facility routinely used for travel by senior U.S. government officials.

The aircraft made a stop in Latvia before continuing on to Moscow, initially triggering speculation about who was aboard after both the Pentagon and White House declined to identify the passengers.

CBS News and Axios subsequently reported that Ratcliffe was the senior official who had traveled to Russia.

The CIA did not immediately provide additional information about the reported visit when contacted for comment.

Ratcliffe is regarded as one of President Donald Trump’s closest and most trusted advisers and has played a significant role in the administration’s handling of the war with Iran. It was not immediately clear, however, what issues the CIA chief planned to discuss with Russian officials or whom he was scheduled to meet during the Moscow visit.

Efforts to find a resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war, which have remained stalled for an extended period, have largely been overseen by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law. The two traveled to Moscow in January for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ratcliffe’s reported visit also comes ahead of another planned trip to Russia by a senior U.S. law enforcement official. FBI Director Kash Patel is reportedly preparing to travel to Russia in October.

{Matzav.com}