Cars drive past a billboard bearing an image of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei near the Iraqi Intelligence Directorate in the Mansour district of Baghdad. AFP
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike in a US-Israeli strike on February 28, has yet to appear in public after being named and has only issued a handful of written statements.
His absence from public has led to intense speculation over his condition and whereabouts, but state television and some Iranian officials have indicated he is recovering from wounds sustained in an airstrike that killed his father, the late Khamenei, as well as his mother, sister, brother‑in‑law, and niece.
In a message, Khamenei "expressed his appreciation to the supreme religious authority (in Iraq) and the people of Iraq for their clear stance against aggression against Iran and their support for our country", the ISNA news agency said, referring to the Iraq-based Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, one of the most revered figures in Shia Islam.
The message was delivered following a meeting between the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a Shia party, and the Iranian ambassador to Baghdad, it said.
No further details were given on how the message was transmitted.
Since being named, Mojtaba Khamenei has released a first statement as the supreme leader and a message for the Persian New Year, Nowruz.
Both statements, read out on television, defiantly predicted victory in the war.
US President Donald Trump last week said Washington was dealing with a "top person" in talks with Iran, but made clear it was not the supreme leader.
"We have not heard from the son... We don't know if he is living," said Trump.
Mojtaba Khamenei is the third supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic revolution, succeeding his father and revolutionary founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
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