Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian recently held a conference with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei - who has remained out of the public eye since assuming office early in the Middle East war- according to a Sunday report from AFP citing the leader's office.
“Dr. Masoud Pezeshkian met Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei and spoke with him at the start of his third year in the presidency," stated the announcement from the Supreme Leader's office, which omitted the precise date of the meeting.
Pezeshkian, who entered the presidency in July 2024, previously stated in early May that he had conferred with Khamenei, though no specific date was offered and the Supreme Leader's office released no corresponding statement at that time.
Addressing the situation this past Wednesday, the president remarked that communicating with the country's top cleric was “very difficult at the moment" as persistent rumors circulated regarding Khamenei's physical condition after he was reportedly injured in the strike that claimed the life of his father.
According to the official statement from Khamenei’s office, the two leaders “discussed in detail the country's issues and problems" while evaluating the “current military situation and future prospects".
On Sunday, the Tasnim news agency quoted a general within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who noted that visual documentation depicting Khamenei interacting with citizens and attending official meetings would be “published in the future", though no concrete schedule was provided.
The official statement follows a report released last week by the Iranian opposition outlet IranWire, which claimed that senior figures in Tehran are increasingly alarmed about Mojtaba Khamenei's physical condition because he has not conducted in-person meetings with government ministers since the February 28 bombardment of the Supreme Leader's compound. Opposition reports further indicated internal rumors within the regime's top ranks that the leader's health is severely compromised and his life remains in grave danger.
The February 28 attack destroyed the Supreme Leader's compound, eliminating former leader Ali Khamenei along with several relatives. Since that strike, Mojtaba Khamenei has not convened face-to-face sessions with cabinet ministers serving under President Pezeshkian.
Last month, Saudi broadcaster Al Hadath referenced an Israeli defense source claiming that Mojtaba Khamenei had departed Iran, alleging that official messages released under his name are actually prepared by Ahmad Vahidi alongside the IRGC leadership. The source further asserted that severe internal factionalism poses an existential threat to the Revolutionary Guards as domestic turmoil intensifies across the country.
In March, CNN reported that the newly appointed Supreme Leader sustained injuries during the initial day of the conflict, suffering a broken foot, trauma near his left eye, and facial lacerations.