US Secretary of State Marco Rubio today said that there were signs Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was becoming increasingly involved in negotiations with Washington, despite not having appeared publicly since taking office.
Appearing before lawmakers in back-to-back hearings on Capitol Hill, Rubio suggested that Khamenei was participating in the decision-making process through written communications and intermediaries.
“I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level,” Rubio said. “Although all of his communications have been in writing and through intermediaries.”
He further acknowledged widespread questions surrounding Khamenei’s absence from public life, linking it to security concerns following the deaths of senior Iranian figures during the war’s start.
“I would imagine, given what’s happened to multiple leaders in that system, being very public is probably not something that’s recommended for them internally,” Rubio told lawmakers.
Mojtaba, who succeeded his father, former supreme leader Ali Khamenei, following his death during the war has been an enigmatic and obscure figure, having been entirely absent from public life, with no pictures or audio available since the war’s start, as he has sent all his missives through written statements distributed via Iranian state and semi-official media.
Questions about his health have also persisted. In March, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said Khamenei had been badly wounded during the conflict, with reports indicating that he was likely disfigured.
Iranian officials have maintained that Mojtaba Khamenei remains of sound mind, taking a primary role in decision making.
While Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency reported this week that the ongoing indirect communications had effectively stopped between the two sides several days ago, Rubio insisted that Washington and Tehran remained in contact.
He told lawmakers that Iranian officials had shown a willingness to discuss aspects of their nuclear programme which had been previously considered off limits by Tehran.
According to Rubio, reopening the Strait of Hormuz remains one of Washington’s central demands in any agreement with Tehran.
Reiterating President Donald Trump’s claims, Rubio said, “There is no Iranian navy.”
“It lies at the bottom of the ocean, and will soon, within a number of years, be prime fishing spots because they’ll turn into reefs.”
