Gabriel K@gabriel_k

Follow

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei search intensifies

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei hasn't appeared publicly since taking over after the February 2026 airstrike. The CIA and Mossad are ramping up efforts to find him, with officials saying he was likely badly hurt in the attack. For over 150 days he's avoided phones and laptops, and he's thought to be holed up in a fortified underground bunker somewhere around Tehran or Qom. Electronic surveillance hasn't turned up much, so the hunt is moving from cyber intel to human sources. Former Mossad figures describe a system where he relies on layers of unwitting couriers passing handwritten notes, meaning the only real shot at confirming his location,or whether he's even alive,is getting inside his inner circle. Some in the intelligence community think the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps might be covering up his death, while others point to the possibility of body doubles being used to mask his movements.

1mo

Gabriel K@gabriel_k

Follow

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei search intensifies

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei hasn't appeared publicly since taking over after the February 2026 airstrike. The CIA and Mossad are ramping up efforts to find him, with officials saying he was likely badly hurt in the attack. For over 150 days he's avoided phones and laptops, and he's thought to be holed up in a fortified underground bunker somewhere around Tehran or Qom. Electronic surveillance hasn't turned up much, so the hunt is moving from cyber intel to human sources. Former Mossad figures describe a system where he relies on layers of unwitting couriers passing handwritten notes, meaning the only real shot at confirming his location,or whether he's even alive,is getting inside his inner circle. Some in the intelligence community think the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps might be covering up his death, while others point to the possibility of body doubles being used to mask his movements.

1mo