Iran president’s big admission on Mojtaba Khamenei: ‘Communication with supreme leader very difficult’

Amid reports of tensions within Iran’s leadership, President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that communicating with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has become “very difficult at the moment.” Khamenei, 56, has not appeared in public since succeeding his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike that also reportedly wounded Mojtaba Khamenei.

Despite his absence from public view, Pezeshkian insisted that Khamenei continues to play a key role in directing Iran’s response to the conflict.

Pezeshkian on Khamenei

“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.

Although Khamenei has issued written statements since taking office, his limited public appearances during the ongoing conflict with the United States have fuelled speculation about his relationship with senior political and military leaders. He also did not attend his father’s funeral ceremonies last month.

Rejecting suggestions of discord, Pezeshkian said he had held constructive meetings with the Supreme Leader, describing him as someone who had treated him with “kindness and very sound logic.”

“Unfortunately, the current situation allows some malicious people to describe him differently and to present a different image of him,” the Iranian president said.

Reports of leadership differences

Pezeshkian’s remarks come amid media reports alleging growing differences within Iran’s leadership. Israeli broadcaster Channel 14, citing sources familiar with developments in Tehran, claimed that Khamenei had issued a “final ultimatum” to the president and had thrown his support behind Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Ahmad Vahidi on major decisions concerning the conflict and negotiations.

The report further alleged that Khamenei had declined to dissuade Pezeshkian from resigning, effectively weakening the president’s political leverage.

According to Channel 14, Pezeshkian had repeatedly threatened to resign during disagreements over policy and formally offered his resignation in May, arguing that his administration had been largely sidelined from national security and foreign policy decision-making.

The broadcaster claimed that Khamenei’s latest stance reflects closer alignment with Iran’s military establishment, leaving the president with limited influence over the country’s strategic decisions. These claims have not been independently verified.

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