Khamenei's body language during his 'victory speech' revealed the truth, says body language expert

An Israeli body language expert has sought to analyse the 'victory speech' video by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei that appeared in Iranian state television on Thursday. 

 

Maayan Bashan, a body language expert, claimed a detailed analysis of the Supreme Leader's video showed that his true emotions didn't match his grandiose words. Khamenei broke cover on Thursday from his bunker to address Iranian people about how his country "gave Americans a tight slap". "The Zionist regime, with all its noise and claims, was nearly brought to its knees," the Supreme Leader said.

 

But, Bashan, in a piece that appeared in a Hebrew-language daily newspaper, claims his body "shouted something entirely different."  "The gap between his words and body language was so great that the entire video was a joke," Bashan said.

Also read: Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei breaks cover to declare victory: 'Delivered a harsh slap to America’s face'

The analyst, who also shared a past video of the Supreme Leader on his social media page, said Khamenei was a leader with impressive charisma whose words were powerful and inspiring. "But what we saw yesterday was only a meagre remnant of that charisma - like a dim memory of what he once was," he said.

 

Bashan added that the words Khamenei chose were grandiose and bombastic. "Great victory," "Congratulations to the nation," "The Zionist regime is almost crushed," "firm stand," and "the great nation" - words that are supposed to resonate with victory and inspire enthusiasm and national pride. But his body language? Conveying despair, fear and deep sadness," Bashan said.

 

He pointed out an instance from the speech wherein Khamenei thanked god for helping Iran. "We thank God for helping our Armed Forces. They were able to break through the enemy’s advanced, multi-layered defence and raze many of their urban and military areas under the pressure brought by Iran’s missiles and powerful attacks using advanced weaponry," Khamenei said. However, Bashan argues that Khamenei delivered these sentences with closed eyes, which "indicated lies and concealment". 

 

"His gaze wanders to the lower left - clear evidence that Khamenei is experiencing a very strong and negative emotion," Bashan said.  

 

"In addition, he often raises his eyebrows uncontrollably for a split second - in body language this is called a "micro-expression of surprise", meaning he is surprised by the words that came out of his mouth... because they are simply false," the body language expert claimed.

 

The Supreme Leader also gives away expressions that display "humiliation and fear". "You can see how he swallows, purses his lips and presses his tongue to his palate - which creates a strange sound and indicates enormous internal tension," he added.

 

Bashan compares the video with a past one, stating both convey vastly different emotions. "His body hardly moves beyond his speaking mouth, he does not look up, the set of micro-expressions he projects conveys despair, sadness and concealment - as we have seen - compared to the confidence, charisma and vitality from the old speech," he added.

 

"His muscle tone is frozen to the point of immobility, compared to his previously relaxed and relaxed body. And most impressive is the change in his voice," the expert said, adding that the leader's voice reflected despair.

Middle East