Today's Video Headlines: 3/21/2026
Feb. 28 strikes that blew up his fatherIt’s left Iran ians speculating whether he’s even alive — and earned him the moniker “the cardboard ayatollah” — after an AI-generated video of supporters hailing a cardboard cutout of him went viral.
But intelligence from both the CIA and Israel’s Mossad — like evidence regime officials in Tehran have been trying to schedule in-person meetings with Khamenei — suggest he’s alive. His whereabouts and condition though — he was wounded in the opening strikes of the war that took out his father — remain a puzzling mystery.Iran’s allies threaten Red Sea attacks as mullahs choke Strait of HormuzThe White House’s national security team is trying to figure out if the younger Khamenei, 56, is actually the one in charge — and if not, who is, a US official“It’s beyond weird,” a US official added. “We don’t think the Iranians would have gone through all this trouble to choose a dead guy as the supreme leader, but at the same time, we have no proof that he is taking the helm.” Khamenei was announced as the new supreme leader on March 9. His public response came three days letter in a written statement.No one has seen Khamenei or heard his voice since he was reportedly injured in the strike that killed his father.“We will not forgo avenging the blood of the martyrs,” the statement, read on Iranian state television, said.Trump administration officials took it as evidence he was badly wounded in the strike. “Iran has plenty of cameras and voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why,” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters at a briefing last week. “The new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured.”The White House’s national security team is trying to figure out if Khamenei, 56, is actually the one in charge.The speculation escalated Friday, when he didn’t appear in public for the Persian New Year, Nowruz, as is tradition — or even release a video address. Again, a written statement was issued purported to be from the supreme leader, saying the US and Israel made a “gross miscalculation” by starting the war in Iran. “This war took place with the illusion that if they martyred the head of the system and a number of influential military figures, it would create fear and despair in people, and in this way, it would realize the dream of dominating Iran and then disintegrating it,” he declared through a message read on Iranian television Friday.Alabama student, 20, might have been drugged before tragic death in Spain: reportKendra Duggar seen leaving jail after being charged with husband Joseph in alleged child endangerment caseNo one has seen Khamenei or heard his voice since he was reportedly injured in the strike that killed his father.The White House's national security team is trying to figure out if Khamenei, 56, is actually the one in charge. Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man’ on Netflix, a Fitting Conclusion to the Stylish Rock ‘n’ Roll Gangster Saga
Ali Khamenei Ayatollah Khamenei Cia Intelligence Iran Mojtaba Khamenei
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