The United States is still waiting for Iran’s response to proposals aimed at ending the war, despite continued exchanges of fire in the Strait of Hormuz, CNN reported Saturday.
The uncertainty comes as U.S. officials assess who in Tehran has the authority to negotiate a deal. According to current U.S. intelligence assessments cited by CNN, Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is playing a key role in shaping Tehran’s war strategy alongside other senior officials, though the division of power within Iran’s fractured leadership remains unclear.
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Khamenei has not been seen publicly since he was seriously wounded in the strike that killed his father and other senior officials in the opening blow of Israel’s Operation Rising Lion. He was declared his father’s successor on March 8.
Sources who spoke to CNN said U.S. intelligence has still not been able to visually confirm Khamenei’s current location. The British newspaper The Times reported last month that he was hospitalized in serious condition in Qom.
One source told CNN that some of the uncertainty stems from Khamenei’s avoidance of electronic communication. He interacts only with those able to visit him in person or through messages carried by couriers, the sources said.
Khamenei remains isolated as he continues receiving treatment for serious injuries, including severe burns on one side of his body affecting his face, arm, upper body and leg, according to the report.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told state media earlier this week that he held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Khamenei. If true, CNN noted, it would be the first reported face-to-face meeting between a senior Iranian official and the supreme leader.
People familiar with the latest U.S. intelligence said what American officials know about Khamenei’s condition is based on information gathered from those who communicate with him. U.S. analysts are also examining whether some Iranian officials may be claiming access to Khamenei in order to invoke his authority and advance their own agendas.
Although intelligence assessments suggest Khamenei is helping develop Iran’s negotiating strategy, one source familiar with the latest information told CNN there is evidence he is fairly removed from decision-making and accessible only “rarely.”
As a result, one source said, senior Revolutionary Guard officials are effectively managing day-to-day operations together with parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
“There is no indication that he is actually giving orders on a routine basis, but nothing proves that he is not,” another source familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments said.
The questions over Khamenei’s health and standing have complicated the Trump administration’s efforts to secure an end to the war.
“Their system is still very broken, and it is also not functioning, so that could be an obstacle,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Friday, discussing Iran’s expected response to the latest U.S. proposal.
CNN noted that U.S. intelligence had largely anticipated before the war that killing Khamenei’s father would not bring down the regime.
“Even if you remove the ayatollah, his successors are all extremists,” one source said.
During the war, President Donald Trump has repeatedly boasted that the killing of Khamenei and other senior officials effectively led to “regime change” in Iran, at times describing those now negotiating on Tehran’s behalf as “reasonable.” In March, he said, “We are dealing with different people than anyone has dealt with before.”
More recently, however, Trump has said Iran’s leadership is divided and that “they also don’t know” who controls the country. In March, he said Khamenei was “dead or seriously wounded,” and has since occasionally referred to the leadership as “maniacs.”
One source familiar with the intelligence assessments described the uncertainty surrounding Khamenei’s status as a mix between The Wizard of Oz and Weekend at Bernie’s, the film in which two young men discover their boss is dead but pretend he is still alive.
About two weeks ago, The New York Times reported that the regime was restricting access to Khamenei out of fear that Israel would kill him. According to the report, Khamenei is surrounded mainly by doctors and medical aides treating his injuries. Pezeshkian, a trained heart surgeon, was reportedly personally involved in his care.
Although Khamenei was seriously wounded, the report said he remained mentally sharp and was communicating well with those around him. One of his legs was reportedly operated on three times, and he is now awaiting a prosthetic leg. He also underwent surgery on one hand, which is gradually regaining function. His face and lips sustained severe burns, making it difficult for him to speak, and he will eventually need plastic surgery.
US strikes on tankers in Hormuz
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In a separate report last month, Reuters said Khamenei’s face had been badly damaged and “disfigured,” and that he suffered a significant injury to one or both legs. Reuters said it could not independently verify the descriptions.
Khamenei’s location, condition and ability to govern remain a mystery. Since the strike and his declaration as Iran’s new leader, no photo, video or recording of him has been released.
One official said updated images of Khamenei were expected to be released within a month or two, and that he may also appear publicly during that period. But all three sources said he would appear in public only when his health and the security situation allowed it.
The diplomatic uncertainty has drawn sharp criticism in the United States. Former Vice President Kamala Harris escalated her criticism of the war during an appearance in Las Vegas on Thursday.
“When you look at this war in Iran, which the American people do not want, which was not authorized by … should not have been initiated … he talked about obliterating … it’s all just … bull***t!” Harris said.
“You made me do that! I promised I’m not going to curse in public anymore,” she added.
Harris then criticized the cost of the war and its impact on Americans.
“We are not only losing our authority, we are literally engaged where we are talking billions of dollars, where we’re talking about gas prices going up, where we’re talking about the American people suffering. And for what?” she said. “This is part of how we have to understand how the irresponsibility of this administration is profound.”