Netanyahu Labels New Iranian Supreme Leader a Puppet Following Masked Debut of Mojtaba Khamenei

Prime Minister Netanyahu claims Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is a puppet of the IRGC and unable to appear in public after a masked debut.

By: AXL Media

Published: Mar 12, 2026, 4:30 PM EDT

Source: Information for this report was sourced from Vanguard News

Israeli Leadership Challenges Legitimacy of Tehran Successor

The emergence of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new Supreme Leader of Iran has been met with sharp derision from the Israeli government. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, speaking during a televised press conference, asserted that the new leader is currently incapable of making a public appearance. This statement follows a development in which Tehran issued its first official communication under the name of the new leader, though the message was notably delivered by a television presenter rather than the leader himself.

The Narrative of the Invisible Tyrant

According to Prime Minister Netanyahu, the transition of power in Iran has resulted in the replacement of an old tyrant with a "puppet" controlled by military interests. Netanyahu claimed that the new leader’s absence from the public eye is a sign of weakness and lack of autonomy. The Israeli Prime Minister framed this invisibility as a direct consequence of recent strategic shifts in the region, suggesting that the new head of the Iranian state lacks the authority or security to engage directly with the populace.

Revolutionary Guards Control Over Political Transition

The Israeli assessment of the Iranian leadership change emphasizes the dominant role of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in managing the succession. Netanyahu described Mojtaba Khamenei as a tool of the military elite, implying that policy decisions are being dictated by the Guard rather than the nominal religious head. This characterization seeks to undermine the religious and political standing of the new leader by portraying him as a figurehead for the regime’s security apparatus.