Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, runs the country from a hiding place under severe communication restrictions, relying on a complex network of emissaries as the sole means of receiving and transmitting messages. Not just Khamenei, all top Iranian officials are in hiding, and their efforts at communicating with each other feel “like a sitcom”, according to a report quoting US officials.
This comes amid reports that Khamenei has approved the general framework for a peace agreement, which stipulates that Tehran agrees "in principle" to give up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
According to a report by US media CBS News, when the United States sends proposals, it takes a long time before they reach Khamenei. “Every piece of information he gets is already out of date, and there is a significant delay in his responses,” one of the officials said. "Watching them try to figure out how to talk to each other is almost like watching a sitcom. They are completely exasperated," one official said.
Khamenei, who is suspected to have been injured in Israeli air strikes, is taking utmost caution, and even officials at the highest level of the Iranian government don't know where he is and have no way to contact him directly. The messages are being passed through a network of couriers created to obscure the supreme leader's location.
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"This is why you see people saying things like, 'The supreme leader has agreed to the framework,' or 'We're waiting to hear back on the final deal points.' Every piece of information he receives is dated, and there's a lot of latency to his responses," CBS quoted an official.
Earlier, there were reports that Khamenei was much more seriously injured than previously reported and was living under extreme security for fear that Israel would track him down.
He has undergone three surgeries on his leg and is awaiting the installation of a prosthesis. The Supreme Leader also suffers from severe burns to his face and lips that make it difficult for him to speak, and he is expected to undergo plastic surgery. It was also reported that Iran's President, Massoud Pazakhian, a heart surgeon by profession, and the Minister of Health are personally involved in the treatment. Despite the injuries, Khamenei remains mentally sharp, the reports added.
