Free Republic

Iranian regime loyalists displayed a taped-together cardboard cutout of their new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in recent strikes and has not been seen since his elevation. The makeshift stand-in appeared at a pro-regime rally in Tehran, where organizers brought the life-size cutout of Khamenei onto the stage, according to Israeli journalist Amit Segal. Regime loyalists hailed and swore allegiance to the cutout, which appeared crudely assembled and held together by strips of tape, Segal reported. Khamenei has not appeared in public or issued a statement since being selected as Iran’s new supreme leader on Sunday following...

Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was a no-show at his own succession rally in Tehran — and observers speculate that he’s either wounded or hiding out in fear. As thousands gathered on Monday to celebrate Khamenei’s appointment as the country’s new supreme leader, the nepo-baby mullah was represented by a mere portrait — one that was half the size of dad Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s. The portrait of the dead leader took up the center of the stage, according to state media footage of the event. “It’s either he’s out cold in a hospital, or he’s scared and hiding...