Iran’s Pezeshkian says he recently met with yet-to-be-seen supreme leader

Islamic Republic’s president does not say exactly when his meeting with Mojtaba Khamenei took place, but describes son of slain supreme leader as ‘humble’ and ‘sincere’

TEHRAN, Iran — Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that he had met with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March.

Pezeshkian did not say when their meeting took place.

“What struck me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution,” the president said in a video broadcast by state television.

Khamenei, said wounded in strikes on the first day of the Middle East war that claimed the life of his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, has appeared to release only written statements since his appointment.

His 86-year-old father was killed in US-Israeli strikes in late February after more than three decades at the helm of the Islamic Republic.

Ali Khamenei himself had succeeded the founder of the republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.

Mojtaba’s appointment by Iran’s Assembly of Experts, an 88-member body responsible for selecting the supreme leader, was announced by state television on March 9.

Since then, portraits of the 56-year-old have become ubiquitous in the streets of Iran, but the new leader has been conspicuous in his absence from the public stage, in stark contrast to frequent appearances made by his father.

According to anonymous sources, he suffered severe facial and leg injuries but remains mentally sharp and is taking part in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing. Other sources have claimed that the younger Khamenei is not exercising the same centralized authority as his father, with power instead shifting to senior commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and out of the office of the supreme leader, who remains under close medical care.

Israel launched its campaign against Iran, alongside the US, to degrade the Iranian regime’s military capabilities, distance threats posed by Iran — including its nuclear and ballistic missile programs — and “create the conditions” for the Iranian people to topple the regime, the military and other Israeli leaders have said.

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.