DUBAI: Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is operating from an undisclosed location with limited access to the outside world, relying on a network of couriers to relay messages as the country’s leadership fears further targeted strikes, according to a CBS News exclusive citing US officials familiar with the intelligence.
The report on Sunday claimed that communication problems inside Iran’s leadership had become a major obstacle in negotiations with the Donald Trump administration, with Iranian officials authorized to engage Washington struggling to communicate even within their own system.
US officials told CBS that when proposals were sent to Tehran, significant delays passed before responses were received because messages would first make their way through intermediaries to the supreme leader.
According to CBS, Iran’s leadership has adopted extreme security measures following US and Israeli strikes during Operation Epic Fury, which intelligence officials said enabled the targeting and killing of several senior Iranian figures.
Most top officials are now said to spend weeks inside heavily fortified bunkers, avoiding direct contact and limiting communications unless necessary.
The report added that even high-ranking Iranian officials do not know the supreme leader’s exact whereabouts or do not have a direct line of communication with him.
Messages are passed through trusted couriers specifically used to obscure his location, while he reportedly provides only broad guidance on what issues can be negotiated and which remain off limits.
Khamenei, who succeeded his slain father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not appeared publicly since before the war began.
