Israel Reportedly Believes Mojtaba Khamenei Is Alive And Operative But Is Not Targeting Him At The Moment

Israel believes the new Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive and operative, but is not targeting him at the moment as part of a broader strategy to keep regime figures alive to give internal legitimacy to a future deal, according to a new report.

Local outlet Maariv detailed that the Trump administration has given the directive to preserve key figures in the regime, including Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and the head of the Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Questions about Khamenei’s state and whereabouts have abounded since the beginning of the war, considering he has not been seen or heard ever since it began on February 28, when U.S. and Israeli attacks targeted the country’s leadership and killed his father, Ali Khemenei.

If the latest assessment is that Khamenei is operative, it would be a development compared to previous ones claiming that he was isolated and not responding to messages.

Axios claimed that, according to intelligence services from the U.S. and Israel, Iranian officials were requesting meetings with Khamenei but were unsuccessful due to security concerns.

The war continues in the meantime, with headlines on Friday focusing on the alleged downing of a U.S. fighter jet in southwest Iran. State media called on citizens to help find the pilots and “shoot them as soon as you see them.” It then changed the directive, offering a reward to anyone who finds the pilots.

The Associated Press noted that the incident is taking place in the Kohkilouyeh and Boyer-Ahmad province, some 300 miles southwest of Tehran.

Several videos posted on social media show what appear to be U.S. aircraft over the area conducting search and rescue missions.

Axios noted that this would be the first time since the beginning of the war that a U.S. jet is downed by enemy fire. Images posted on social media and Iranian TV suggest the jet is a F-15 fighter.

Describing the terrain, AP noted that police and security services have a small presence in the rural region where the pilots may have ejected, which span almost 6,000 square miles. It is home to about 600,000 people, most of whom are farmers.