Tehran staged a highly unusual show of loyalty, as supporters of the Iranian regime gathered for a public ceremony pledging allegiance to Mojtaba Khamenei, the country’s newly appointed supreme leader. Instead of appearing in person, however, Mojtaba was represented by a life-size cardboard cutout placed prominently at the event.

State television aired footage from Revolution Square showing large crowds waving Iranian flags and chanting in support of the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The younger Khamenei was recently elevated to the position of supreme leader after his father was killed in Israeli airstrikes on February 28.

Despite the public display of loyalty, Mojtaba himself did not attend the ceremony. Reports circulating in recent days suggest that he was wounded in a separate Israeli strike last week and has remained out of public view since then. Some reports claim he may still be unconscious, leaving the regime to rely on a cardboard likeness during the ceremony rather than risk exposing his condition.

The unusual spectacle came as Iran’s leadership works to project stability during an intensifying conflict with Israel and the United States. Shortly after Ali Khamenei’s death, hardline clerics in Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts moved quickly to name Mojtaba as the next supreme leader, seeking to demonstrate continuity within the regime.

At the ceremony, commanders from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and representatives of allied militias were seen publicly declaring their loyalty to Mojtaba, reinforcing the regime’s effort to rally supporters and maintain internal cohesion.

{Matzav.com}