Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed Iran's Supreme Leader in March 2026 after his father Ali Khamenei's assassination in US-Israeli strikes, during which Mojtaba sustained reported injuries. Since then, he has issued statements only through state media proxies or still images, with officials citing security risks and conflict-related reasons for his absence from public view. A Russian envoy noted in March that appearances were being avoided "for understandable reasons," and a July official statement indicated no in-person events until hostilities with the United States end. Limited reports of sightings emerged in July, yet trader attention centers on verifiable, in-person confirmations amid ongoing regional tensions and potential diplomatic shifts that could alter security protocols.