From Al Jazeera · Mahjoob Zweiri · · 3m
Iran's new leader governs in silence as war looms
Mojtaba Khamenei rules through written decrees and behind-the-scenes meetings while Iran weighs war against the US and Israel.
In brief
Mojtaba Khamenei rules through written decrees and behind-the-scenes meetings while Iran weighs war against the US and Israel. Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is governing through written statements and consultations with military and political officials rather than public appearances, as Tehran decides…
Iran's new supreme leader takes power in silence
Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father in March after being injured in a February twenty-eighth strike. He governs through written statements and decrees, never appearing publicly or releasing audio recordings.
Why the new leader stays hidden
Sources close to Khamenei told Reuters he was advised not to appear or release audio recordings for fear of being tracked. His rule has taken shape through decrees and decisions channelled through trusted officials.
New military appointments reshape power
In August, Khamenei appointed Mohsen Rezaei as his representative on the Supreme National Security Council. Six military appointments followed, including Ali Abdollahi as chief of the Armed Forces General Staff.
October meetings signal new decision-making
Four meetings announced within eleven days in October involved heads of parliament, judiciary, national security and senior military commanders. This suggests a new system of decision-making taking shape.
Mediation and consultation run in parallel
Each stage of internal consultation followed an external diplomatic development. On October twentieth, Pakistan's Field Marshal Asim Munir carried a Qatari-Pakistani compromise proposal to Tehran.
The compromise proposal on the table
According to Arab media reports, the proposal envisaged unannounced inspections of nuclear facilities in exchange for Iran receiving the interest on its frozen funds in Qatar.
Saudi and Turkish officials join mediation
On October twenty-sixth, Munir returned with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin.
Iran sends Washington a Strait proposal
Rezaei announced that Tehran had sent Washington a proposal concerning the Strait of Hormuz with a seven-day deadline.
Khamenei sets conditions and red lines
In his meeting with Rezaei, Khamenei insisted on Iran's conditions for ending the war, escaping the debilitating state of neither war nor peace, and managing the Strait of Hormuz.
“neither war nor peace”
Khamenei demands military readiness
In his instructions to commanders, Khamenei demanded immediate retaliation against any threat without geographical limits, an expanded list of US and Israeli targets, and emphasised that Iran would decide when any renewed confrontation ended.
The gap between Tehran and Washington
Washington wants nuclear concessions before negotiations resume. Tehran first wants the naval blockade lifted, frozen assets released and oil exports restored. The gap remains wide.
Echoes of the two thousand fifteen nuclear deal
Before the July fourteen, two thousand fifteen nuclear agreement, Ali Khamenei spoke to IRGC commanders of heroic flexibility, set red lines and delegated negotiations to trusted figures like Mohammad Javad Zarif.
“heroic flexibility”
This time is different from two thousand fifteen
The earlier process lasted around two years under sanctions, not war. Today's consultations were compressed into eleven days amid armed confrontation, a naval blockade and the approaching November third US midterm elections.
Can a hidden leader make a historic choice
The new Khameneism's decision-making machinery appears to be in place and functioning. Yet every announcement intended to dispel doubts produces more of them, without photographs or details of exactly when and where meetings took place.
The short version
Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is governing through written statements and consultations with military and political officials rather than public appearances, as Tehran decides between negotiations and confrontation with the US and Israel.
