Iran's new Mojtaba Khamenei video faces immediate fake footage claims

The Iranian regime has circulated a new video intended to prove that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and active, showing him in a purported meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian. However, the footage has been quickly disputed by Sabreen News, which has labeled it as fake and fabricated, intensifying questions surrounding Khamenei's public visibility.

Sabreen News explicitly stated that the video, claiming to depict a meeting between the two leaders, is not genuine. This assertion adds to a pattern of skepticism regarding visual materials involving Mojtaba Khamenei, whose public appearances have been notably limited. The situation is further complicated by President Pezeshkian's earlier statement in May about meeting Khamenei, though specific details were not provided at the time.

This latest incident echoes previous controversies. A photograph allegedly showing the same meeting was later assessed by fact-checkers as AI-generated. Additionally, several other videos attributed to Khamenei have faced similar challenges in recent months. One video purportedly showing him entering a military operations room exhibited signs of AI generation, and another clip allegedly featuring him delivering a speech was also identified as artificially created.

The repeated circulation of disputed and potentially manipulated footage has amplified uncertainty regarding Khamenei's whereabouts and public engagements. His scarce public visibility continues to fuel speculation, while Iranian authorities have released only minimal visual evidence of him since he assumed the position of supreme leader. The authenticity of the most recent video remains unverified based on the available information.