Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Iran’s supreme leader in March 2026 following the assassination of his father during U.S.-Israeli strikes that opened a regional war. Since taking office he has issued multiple written statements read on state television but has not appeared in any confirmed photograph or video, prompting sustained questions about his physical condition after reports of severe injuries. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian publicly confirmed a two-and-a-half-hour in-person meeting with him on May 7, 2026—the first senior official acknowledgment of direct contact—while the Russian ambassador noted in late March that the leader remains in the country yet refrains from public events for security and health reasons. These factors, combined with ongoing diplomatic and military developments in the ceasefire period, continue to shape trader assessments of when, or whether, a verifiable public appearance will occur.