Analysis: Iran’s Supreme Leader still hasn’t appeared in public, as Israel’s assassination threats intensify internal divisions

BlockBeats news, July 10: Iran’s late supreme leader Khamenei was buried in Mashhad at local time on July 9. His eldest son, third son, and fourth son were all present at the funeral, while the newly appointed supreme leader Mujtaba Khamenei continued to “go into hiding” due to security risks and did not publicly attend any mourning or burial activities.

Reports say that Mujtaba was previously injured in an airstrike and has continued to face assassination threats from Israel. Insiders say that he currently almost never uses electronic devices and communicates with the outside world only through face-to-face contact or via messengers to avoid exposing his whereabouts.

Meanwhile, internal divisions within Iran over whether to continue talks with the United States are steadily widening. Pragmatists argue that negotiations should ease sanctions and economic pressure, while hardliners oppose any concession to the United States and publicly criticize the negotiating team. Although Mujtaba has authorized the government to move forward to reach a preliminary agreement with the United States, the related decision has still triggered disputes within the conservative camp.

Analysts believe that in the future, Mujtaba’s choices regarding personnel appointments, policy toward the United States, and security strategy will become an important window for observing Iran’s power structure and the direction of its foreign policy.