N. Prabhakaran Dubai: Citing senior Iranian officials, The New York Times reports that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is ...
N. Prabhakaran
Dubai: Citing senior Iranian officials, The New York Times reports that Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is "mentally alert and active," and is governing the country through a "board" of loyal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed Supreme Leader in March—days after being injured in the attack that killed his father—has not yet appeared or spoken in public. In April, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated there was a possibility that Khamenei’s appearance might have been "disfigured" in that attack.
Currently, reports indicate that he receives news of the outside world through handwritten notes and addresses the public solely through written statements.
Abdolreza Davari, a senior official who served under former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, told The New York Times that Khamenei’s style of governance is like that of a "Chairman of the Board." He has appointed those he trusts as "board members" to make decisions.
"The Generals are the board members," Davari explained, referring to the commanders Khamenei appointed to govern Iran’s defense and foreign affairs sectors.
The report notes that Mojtaba’s style of governance is a stark departure from that of his father, Ali Khamenei. Ali Khamenei ruled with absolute authority until he was killed in an IDF airstrike at the beginning of "Operation Roaring Lion."
In the new administrative order, IRGC Generals are the decisive power, a shift attributed to Khamenei’s personal ties with them. However, Sanam Vakil, Director of the Middle East program at Chatham House, observed that Khamenei has not yet assumed full control over the administration.
On Saturday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf stated that Iran's response to the peace deal proposed by the U.S. has been conveyed to Khamenei, and his stance will be taken into consideration.
Speaker Ghalibaf has now taken charge of negotiations with the U.S. The New York Times reports that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who led negotiations before the war, has now been sidelined.
In his speech, Ghalibaf adopted a more realistic tone. Despite recent military achievements, he admitted that Iran is not stronger than the United States.
"Sometimes you hear our people saying we have destroyed them. No, we haven't destroyed them; you need to understand this," Ghalibaf said.
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