Lost left leg and vocal cords, Mojtaba Khamenei is incapacitated: Who is running Iran?
FINAL: Medical sources in Qom and Intelligence reports are confirming that Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is physically incapacitated following the February 28 US air strikes on Tehran.
With the Supreme Leader hidden in a high-security medical wing, power has effectively shifted to a "War Cabinet" dominated by senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and interim figures like Ayatollah Alireza Arafi. It is a corollary that a power struggle is in the offing.
TEHRAN, Apr 24 (INS): The extent of the injuries suffered by Iran’s new Supreme
Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has finally been revealed by intelligence leaks and
diplomatic confirmations.
The 56-year-old, who assumed power following the assassination of his father
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the massive US-Israeli airstrike on February 28 that
started the current war, had also reportedly suffered life-altering injuries
in the attack.
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Intelligence sources and dossiers from medical staff in Qom confirm that Mojtaba
lost his left leg in the bombardment and suffered severe, disfiguring burns
across his face and lips.
He has undergone three surgeries on one leg and is currently awaiting a prosthetic.
There are severe burns to the face and lips. He reportedly requires plastic
surgery to regain full speech capabilities. However, surgeons report that the
damage to his mouth and throat has made speech nearly impossible, necessitating
a series of complex plastic surgeries to restore even basic vocal function.
The current intelligence suggests that while Mojtaba Khamenei is "mentally
sharp," he is heavily bandaged and bedridden following the February strike.
Since his elevation by the Assembly of Experts on March 8, Mojtaba Khamenei
has been a ghost.
He has not been seen or heard in public since assuming the role. He uses a
"human chain" of couriers to send sealed, handwritten messages to the IRGC and
Government officials. He is reportedly communicating via handwritten letters
to avoid detection.
Analysts suggest he is acting more like a "Chairman of the Board," with the
Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) holding the majority of the actual decision-making
power.
Who is actually running Iran?
The revelation of Mojtaba’s physical state raises a critical question: Who
is actually running Iran? With the Supreme Leader incapacitated and hidden in
a high-security medical wing, power has effectively shifted to a "War Cabinet"
dominated by senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)
and interim figures like Ayatollah Alireza Arafi.
Analysts suggest the regime is currently operating on "autopilot," using Mojtaba’s
name to maintain the appearance of continuity and divine mandate while the military
bureaucracy manages the war effort.
What’s next for the Islamic Republic?
The "what next" for Iran is a volatile cocktail of succession anxiety and military
escalation.
The Islamic Republic’s leadership relies heavily on the public presence and
"moral" authority of the Supreme Leader. If Mojtaba remains a permanent invalid
or a "phantom leader," the rift between the hardline military and the disillusioned
public—already reeling from the brutal suppression of anti-war protests in January—will
likely widen.
Without a strong, singular hand at the helm to restrain the IRGC, there is
a heightened risk of "mission creep." Field commanders may take more aggressive,
independent actions in the Persian Gulf or against US assets to project strength
in the face of leadership vacuum.
A secondary succession
There are already whispers within the Assembly of Experts about Article 111
of the Constitution, which allows for the dismissal of a leader who loses the
physical or mental capacity to govern. If Mojtaba's recovery stalls, a new power
struggle between clerics like Arafi and IRGC loyalists is inevitable.
The man chosen to lead the nation through its greatest existential threat since
1979 is currently fighting for his own recovery, leaving the fate of the Middle
East in the hands of a committee of generals and shadows.
The incident has triggered a debate on social media whether the officer refused to take orders from a party leader or he was accused of any corruption, some netizens justifying the handling in either case, that Ratnakar was blocking public welfare work! It is true the Govt machinery has been the enemy Number One of the people of this country, existing for itself and for these politicians, for well over seven decades. India will never make an inch of progress - real progress, not make-believe-progress - unless and until this machinery is eliminated.
ANALYSIS: There have been cases of Britons going to Switzerland to get rid of a miserable life. Now once the House of Lords also passes the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, terminally ill Britons can call it quits with the help of a medical practitioner here itself. But the measure when comes into practice, will have very serious social consequences, it is feared. There won't be comparisons, even as tropes in Latin American folklores. The worst case scenario is of those who are not terminally ill also trying to misuse the provision to leave this world early when life with dignity is not available. But that is, in fact, a political question and not a moral imbroglio!
The CCTV footage and the video circulating on social media do not indicate any serious abnormalities in takeoff or descent, it has been confirmed. The disaster is becoming curiouser and curiouser. The flight path was not curvy. And the aircraft maintained a steady, gliding descent with its nose straight and the wings perfectly level. The pilot's distress call does not specify what prevented lift and climb-out. Here are some expert opinions. The sole purpose is to raise travellers' awareness about air travel.
Many of the victims were charred beyond recognition, making identification difficult. Three hundred nineteen body parts have been sent for DNA matching with relatives to determine the identities.
A comment on social media on Kanimozhi's answer on the question of national language read: "Daughter of Kalaignar M. Karunanidhi. Delivered the Birthday Present to her Father!!" (Karunanidhi was born on June 3, 1924)
(Today's headlines )
Trump said, "Elon is not really leaving" and will be "back and forth" to the White House because DOGE is his "baby." "I think he’s going to be doing a lot of things.”
Musk wrote: "My scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end... The @DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government." Now on it will be on auto-pilot.
PROGNOSIS: DOGE was prematurely born to protect the country by aborting an impending socio-economic disaster which very few people could see coming.
Although its immediate job was to save American taxpayers billions by slashing waste, eliminating fraud, cutting Government bloat and ensuring utmost efficiency in administration for the good of the people.
(Today's headlines )
"Coming from a system like in England, empowering," she says she never had an idea of this sort of experience... being asked to “socialise with middle-aged men” who financed the event...humiliating...
Originally from Junagadh, Gujarat, Pataudi was relocated to Etawah Lion Safari in September 2019 before being transferred to Gorakhpur Zoo in 2021. Recently it was receiving treatment for pancreatic and liver infections. After tigress Shakti died in the zoo on May 7 due to bird flu, Pataudi was shifted to Kanpur. Some birds are also reported to have died mysteriously around Gorakhpur. All zoos in UP are closed for fear of a bird flu outbreak.
Three other animals too had died - a tiger, a leopardess and a female wolf. Wolf Bhairavi died last Saturday, leopardess Mona died the Thursday before that and tiger Kesari died on March 30. Some of them had Shakti's symptoms but the cause of death has not been confirmed yet.
As tourist inflow is an indicator of normalcy returning to an erstwhile terrorist infested Valley, the Government has been trying hard to make everything travel-friendly, launching lot many projects and bringing Kashmir on the national rail map that physically completes the process of Kashmir's integration with the rest of India. And that defeats the designs of Pakistan eyeing Kashmir and simply explains a recrudescence of terrorism in J&K.
"It's a big victory not just for Tamil Nadu but for all Indian States. DMK will continue to struggle for and win State autonomy and Federal polity," Chief Minister MK Stalin said.
Of 2.08 km in length, it features 99 spans and a 72.5-metre vertical lift span that rises up to a height of 17 metres, facilitating smooth movement of ships while ensuring seamless train services to the holy town of Rameswaram on Pamban island.
ANALYSIS: There is a lot of hue and cry around the world over Trump's tariffs. But tariff, simply put, is a tax. But unlike tax, it affects the exporting country too. Domestic prices will go up for some time. Nothing more will happen, good or bad!
What motivated Trump's newfound policy, apart from being a stunt to justify his existence in the White House, is a false realisation that increased tariff will make foreign goods prohibitive, thereby boosting local production, and create more jobs, and more prosperity will ring in! If that is true, India would have been shining by now: Producing own Rolls-Royce La Rose Noire Droptail and Scotch Whiskies! And what about coconut and palm oil by America!
(Today's headlines )
PROGNOSIS: It looks a Real New Trump is emerging - courageous, balanced, powerful and disinterested. Determined to save his country from the cliff, he has done quite a few draconian things that will reduce the burden of debts of the Federal entity, like the golden handshake, stopping senseless funding, pulling out of a worthless WHO. Shutting the Education Department is another. On the other hand, running it is also not the Centre's job either (We will convincingly elaborate it in the next chapter).
In India the scene is just the opposite. Centralisation is the core agenda and identity of the ruling dispensation without which it has no existence, or in other words, it exists for that set of schemes only. A realisation of this never dawned upon any Opposition party in 2014 or any time thereafter, what to talk of being able to see it coming 70 years ago! The consequence of all this violation of basic natural law of the universe we cannot predict.
THE AMERICAN CONUNDRUM: Political venom has migrated to top echelons in the US. It was reported last year NASA has become politicised, vitiated. But NASA refuted the charge. How Boeing developed a glitch but its unmanned return was smooth. When Suni-Wilmore were stranded last June, why the return was set for February? Because that comes only after January 20! SpaceX called the shots, for itself and for Trump. Then the mission was manipulated for March for a better bargain! In between, what made Elon Musk 'predict' during campaign if Kamala Harris wins he would be in jail. In politics, it is said, "the only rule is there are no rules." Difficult times for Americans too.
The terminations are part of a large-scale exercise going on all across Fed departments and organisations to reduce wasteful Government expenditure as decided by a Trump in a mess gone berserk, and improve administrative efficiency following the whims of billionaire and his associate Elon MusK and his DOGE. It has not been shared how terminations are going to raise the efficiency bar! It looks like Trump has stolen some of the prescriptions meant for India. But the American problems are quite different.
Suddenly these colonial clerks feel this effortless, little rule will tremendously enhance security and convenience for the railway passengers manifold. More stations will be covered in the next 77 years! (Also See:
New Delhi station stampede... What went wrong?)
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