Iran’s President Claims He Met with Mystery ‘Supreme Leader’

Iran reportedly aired a broadcast on state television this week in which President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed to have met “supreme leader” Mojtaba Khamenei, multiple news outlets reported on Thursday, suggesting that the civilian government head is seeking some support from the theocratic wing of what is left of the regime.

Mojtaba Khamenei was proclaimed the successor to his father, late dictator Ali Khamenei, following his death on February 28 as a result of America’s “Operation Epic Fury.” The younger Khamenei has not been seen in public since being decreed the next dictator, nor has he broadcast any video or audio messages that would prove that he is alive and capable of running a government. Iranian state media have published written statements alleged to have come from Khamenei, but these have been read off a piece of paper by propagandists on television, leaving the health status of the “supreme leader” unclear.