Iran President Met Mojtaba Khamenei In 'Darkness', Isn't Convinced It Was Him: Report

The report stated that the president was asked to leave after the interaction, which only lasted a few minutes. Khamenei's guards did not allow Pezeshkian to even as much as shake hands.

06 Aug 2026, 15:32 · NDTV

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Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a secret, dark location in Tehran
The brief meeting was humiliating, with no handshake allowed, which made him doubt if the voice was Mojtaba's
Mojtaba has been unseen publicly for five months, only issuing written statements

Why would the president threaten to resign over policy disagreements?

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian apparently met the country's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a dark, tinted-window car at a secret location in Tehran, where he could not see him. He later asked whether the voice he heard was really of the supreme leader, according to a report by Iran International.

The report stated that the president was asked to leave after the interaction, which only lasted a few minutes. Khamenei's guards did not allow Pezeshkian to even as much as shake hands.

However, Pezeshkian portrayed a different story about their meeting in May when he told a gathering of trade association representatives that he had spent two and a half hours with Mojtaba Khamenei in a "cordial atmosphere".

Meeting Extracted As 'Concession'

According to sources cited by the publication, Pezeshkian extracted the meeting from the supreme leader as a 'concession'. After repeated requests for a meeting and threats of resignation, Khamenei's office finally agreed to the meeting. But they would not meet at the leader's residence, deviating from standard practice.

Pezeshkian was taken to an undisclosed location in Tehran by his security detail and then escorted from his own vehicle to a commercial car with tinted windows inside which Khamenei was waiting in. The location was so dark that they could not see each other.

Citing sources in the president's office, the report stated that Pezeshkian found the encounter humiliating and later asked whether the person he met was indeed the supreme leader.

After the interaction, the Iranian president requested a second meeting at Khamenei's residence, but it has been denied.

Pezeshkian's Big Claim On Mojtaba Khamenei

Pezeshkian has also claimed that establishing communication with Khamenei has become "very difficult at the moment".

"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 news agency AFP.

Read | Amid Reports Of Rift, Iran's President's Big Claim On Mojtaba Khamenei

Pezeshkian defended his leader, however, insisting he had held productive meetings with him and had been met 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," he said.

Mojtaba Issues "Final Ultimatum" To Pezeshkian

Pezeshkian had allegedly used the threat of resignation repeatedly during policy disagreements with Iran's leadership and formally sought to resign in May, claiming that his administration had been "entirely sidelined" from national security and foreign policy decisions.

Khamenei reportedly issued a "final ultimatum" to Pezeshkian and threw his support behind Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Ahmad Vahidi on key decisions concerning the negotiations and conflict, according to Israeli media reports.

Read | Political Troubles In Iran As Mojtaba Issues "Final Ultimatum" To Pezeshkian

Channel 14 claimed that Khamenei's latest position signals full alignment with Iran's military establishment, leaving the president with limited room to influence strategic policymaking.

Mojtaba Missing Since 5 Months

Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen or heard in public for roughly five months since succeeding his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, 2026. He has released only written statements, with state media reading his messages over still photographs.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview in July, "I have not seen Mojtaba Khamenei during this period, and only a limited number of people have met with him."

Moreover, US President Donald Trump had claimed that Mojtaba Khamenei was "90 per cent gone".

"They have no navy, they have no air force, it's all gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone, their leaders have all been killed, their best leaders have been killed," Trump told Fox News.

"Khamenei is gone, the son is 90% gone," he added.

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