Iran releases rare video of Mojtaba Khamenei after reports of deteriorating health

On Sunday, Iran released a rare video of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei after it was widely reported that he was critically ill.

According to the semi-official Mehr News Agency which released the video, it shows Mojtaba in company of other people speaking to them. It does not say whether the video was taken in any particular place or time, nor does it mention the names of the people with whom he was with in the video.

On Sunday, Mehr News Agency also reported that Mojtaba held a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in his first day into his third year in office.

The meeting, the report says, focused on the challenges facing Iran such as the livelihood of the Iranian population and the military battle with the US "as well as economic interactions with foreign partners."

Mojtaba was named Iran's new supreme leader in early March after his father Ali Khamenei died during a US-Israeli airstrike on Feb 28. Since then he has never been seen in public.

A ceasefire agreement between Iran and US was agreed upon in April and afterwards, both countries signed a memorandum of understanding in June for putting an end to the military conflict and achieving a lasting peace agreement.

The agreement fell apart last month as Tehran and Washington exchanged attacks for two weeks until US President Donald Trump unilaterally stopped the bombardment on reports that negotiations were being made on resolving the dispute.

Mojtaba was born in 1969 in the Shi'ite holy city of Mashhad as his father Ali was helping in the opposition of the Shah regime. He also served in the Iran-Iraq war.