Iran's 'Proof of Life' Video for Supreme Leader Blows Up in Its Face

We haven't seen any real evidence that the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is even alive since the first attack of Operation Epic Fury on Iran on February 28.

Now the regime has released a video of the guy we like to call the "Cardboard Ayatollah."

Iran’s Mehr News released a video claiming to show Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei “for the first time,” with no date or location specified. The right side of his face cannot be seen in the footage. pic.twitter.com/JdKWU2Svy6
— Ariel Oseran أريئل أوسيران (@ariel_oseran) August 8, 2026

Iran released a rare video Sunday of its supreme leader appearing in prime condition amid his long absence from the public eye and swirling reports of deteriorating health.
The country’s semi-official Mehr News Agency flaunted video of Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, sitting in a circle and speaking with a group of men, with no context of when or where the scene took place.

So first, there's no evidence this was after the attack.

Second, there's no evidence of the horrible injuries he supposedly received, which suggests it was recorded before Operation Epic Fury, although you can not see the right side of his face. Supposedly, he had leg and facial injuries in that attack.

Khamenei’s face was disfigured in the strike and has been kept out of the public eye, sources close to the supreme leader told Reuters, with recent reports suggesting the supreme leader was suffering health complications from his injuries.
Iranian officials have repeatedly denied that Khamenei’s health is deteriorating and that he merely serves as a puppet for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that backs his rule.

Moreover, it should be noted it was already posted in March, so they're lying if they say it's the "first time" it was released.

See here. Iranian media first started circulating it in March.https://t.co/mQae3nqjZp
— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) August 8, 2026

But, also, as Fox's Trey Yingst noted, online analysts identified it as months-old footage from Qom before Operation Epic Fury.

The regime was trying to buffalo people. The only reason they would do this is if they couldn't produce any real proof of life video, i.e., he is probably dead.

They are claiming they are going to produce more.

Qasem Qoraishi, deputy of Iran’s Basij Organization, suggested the Mehr footage was merely the beginning of a new wave of Khamenei footage to reinforce that the supreme leader is well and making active decisions in the government.
Footage and other documentation of Khamenei actively going out in public on the streets of Tehran, along with attending meetings with his armed forces, will supposedly be released in the future, Qoraishi said Sunday.
The videos will “once ⁠again bring disgrace upon the enemies and detractors of the Iranian people,” he said.

That should be entertaining. Will they be as dumb as this effort?

As we reported last week, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, supposedly met with him.

But it was so cloak-and-dagger, in the dark, he couldn't even determine if he was actually meeting with the cardboard Ayatollah.

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

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