Rouhollah Rahimpour, journalist and political analyst, said Donald Trump’s remarks about the situation of Mojtaba Khamenei reflect the ambiguity that the Islamic Republic has created about his condition over the past five months. He added that this ambiguity has political and security functions, especially for groups close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in negotiations, foreign crises, and internal equations.

He also said that no definitive information about Mojtaba Khamenei’s physical condition—or even his presence at the time of the attack—has been released, and that the available reports have not only failed to resolve this ambiguity, but show that the Islamic Republic continues to insist on maintaining this ambiguous situation.