Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei recently, said the latter’s office on Sunday, without revealing details of the meeting, and when and where it took place. The meeting holds significance as Khamenei has not appeared before the public since assuming the charge as Supreme Leader.
“Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian met Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and spoke with him at the start of his third year in the presidency,” a statement by Khamenei’s office read.ย
The meeting is crucial as Pezeshkian had recently said that communication with 56-year-old Khamenei has become “extremely difficult”, even as he insisted the Supreme Leader is playing a key role in directing Iran’s response to the conflict. He also said that Khamenei has treated him with “kindness and very sound logic.”
“It is very difficult to communicate with him at the moment, but in any case, his presence is a very great source of strength for us so that we can continue,” Pezeshkian said, according to AFP. “Unfortunately, the current situation allows some malicious people to describe him differently and to present a different image of him.”
His remarks fueled speculations regarding Khamenei’s health, with Israeli media claiming that the Supreme Leader could pass in a few days. The speculation was further amplified by a report from Iran International, which said Pezeshkian had met Khamenei only once, and that too at an undisclosed location in the capital city of Tehran.
As per the report, that meeting lasted for only a few minutes in complete darkness, and Pezeshkian was unable to see Khamenei. The Iran International said Pezeshkian could only hear Khamenei’s words, which left him wondering if he really met the Supreme Leader.
Pezeshkian was reportedly left disappointed and sought another meeting with Khamenei later.
With speculations continuing over Khamenei’s health, Iran’s Mehr news agency released a short 12-second video of Khamenei on Sunday that showed him interacting with his advisers at an undisclosed location. In the video, Khamenei, who became the Supreme Leader after his predecessor and father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, appeared in perfect health, as he discussed Iran’s strategy for the conflict with the US.
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