Khosro Isfahani, the research director for the National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI), described Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtada Khomenei, in a rather unflattering manner.
Told CNN that Mojtaba Khamenei, the new Supreme Leader in Iran, has the charisma of a boiled potato.
Someone has made the meme. https://t.co/yUpQr03M08 pic.twitter.com/vOEd31Yzt5
— Khosro K Isfahani (@KhosroIsfahani) March 21, 2026
The “Khamenei as a potato” meme was very popular on X, as was the “carboard Khamenei cutout” meme, since only cardboard representations of Khamenei have been shown to the Iranian people since the supreme leader’s ascension.
I can’t stop laughing. Iranians in the UK hold up cardboard cut outs of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamanei.
The Islamic Regime has been utterly humiliated beyond repair 😂pic.twitter.com/ELl1pGgFuW
— Kosher (@koshercockney) March 16, 2026
So where is he? That’s the question still being asked by Western intelligence services, which have gotten decidedly mixed clues about Khamenei the Younger’s condition and ability to rule.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Mojtaba was “wounded and likely disfigured” in the February 28 strike that killed his father, Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader. Donald Trump said on March 13,“I think he probably is [alive]. I think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, you know.”
“Khanenei hasn’t appeared in public, nor has the Iranian government issued new images of him or even recordings of his voice,” reports the Wall Street Journal.
Most intelligence analysts believe that Khamenei the Younger is a figuregead anyway. It’s universally believed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is in total control of civil and military affairs.
But most Iranians don’t know that. They’re looking to the supreme leader, a religious icon and familial symbol of fatherhood, to comfort them in this time of woe.
The Iranians recently celebrated the holiday of Nowruz, the old Persian new year. Rooted in over 3,000 years of tradition, it signifies the start of spring and the renewal of life, It’s an extremely popular holiday in Iran, which is why the mullahs couldn’t get rid of it, despite it being a holdover from the Zoroastrian traditions of Persia.
By tradition, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would deliver an upbeat message in a speech broadcast nationwide. This year, Khamenei the Younger issued a statement, not even a fake recording. And, of course, there was no public appearance.
That’s not surprising at all.
“Under the current exceptional circumstances, one should not expect him to appear in public, and it is possible that his injury does not even allow him to release a recorded video in order not to expose to the public the severity of his condition,” said Raz Zimmt, director of the Iran Program at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.
That the Revolutionary Guard can’t even prop the new leader up as figurehead raises questions not only about his health, but his mental capacity.
“The IRGC are taking over Iran and they are crazy,” a senior Arab official told Axios. “They are highly ideological and are ready to die and meet Khamenei Senior.”
Khamenei is high on Israel’s kill list, and appearances increase the likelihood of being tracked and then targeted. Iran’s national security chief, Ali Larijani, was killed in an Israeli airstrike days after he took part in a public rally in Tehran. Despite the risk, many Iranian officials have continued to appear on camera and are actively commenting on recent developments on social media while avoiding public areas. Not Khamenei.His avoidance of the public eye is consistent with past behavior. He has eschewed avoided media appearances. He is known to have only ever given a single interview, in 2021, with the sole purpose of paying tribute to his late grandfather. There isn’t much archival footage of him. In an apparent attempt to introduce him to the wider public, Iran’s state media on Thursday released a grainy, undated video that shows Khamenei giving a religious lesson.
Iranians knew little about Khamenei before his elevation except that he was close to his father and that he played a role behind the scenes in the supreme leader’s powerful office. That in itself sends a clear message, analysts said.
Hamidreza Azizi, visiting fellow and Iran expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, said, “He represents absolute continuity, regardless of how mysterious he may be. For supporters of the regime, that is a positive thing. They can be convinced that the legacy of Ali Khamenei is continuing.”
Some in Iran are now calling him the “cardboard ayatollah.” Even if Khamenei the Younger comes in from the cold, he’ll still be a cardboard cutout. He will do what the Revolutionary Guard tells him to do — where to stand, what to say. In this sense, it hardly matters if he’s dead or alive.
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