Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not issued any public audio or video statements since taking power, reportedly due to severe injuries sustained in an Israeli airstrike in late February, a development that comes as President Donald Trump points to unclear leadership in Tehran as a major obstacle in ongoing peace efforts.

According to a report citing four Iranian officials, Khamenei, 56, has avoided public appearances because he “does not want to appear vulnerable or sound weak.” The officials said he has undergone multiple medical procedures, including three surgeries on one leg and an operation on his hand, and is expected to require a prosthetic.

“His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak [and] he will need plastic surgery,” the report stated.

The same report said top officials have largely stayed away from visiting him, fearing Israeli forces could track their movements. As a result, authority has shifted increasingly toward military leadership, particularly Iran’s generals, rather than civilian officials.

“Senior government officials do not visit him, fearing that Israel may trace them to him and kill him,” the report added.

Communication with Khamenei is said to be highly restricted, relying on handwritten messages delivered through a chain of couriers traveling by various routes to avoid detection.

“Messages to him are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and relayed via a human chain from one trusted courier to the next, who travel on highways and back roads, in cars and on motorcycles until they reach his hide-out. His guidance on issues snakes back the same way.”

Despite the difficulty in accessing him, the report noted that certain senior figures, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Health Minister Mohammad-Reza Zafarghandi, “have both been involved in his care.”

The situation has reinforced concerns within the Trump administration that fragmented leadership and slow internal communication are hindering diplomatic progress, particularly as questions remain about whether Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf have the authority to negotiate on behalf of Iran.

Earlier this week, Trump extended a temporary ceasefire with Iran indefinitely while awaiting a response to a new U.S. proposal that calls for ending nuclear enrichment and surrendering roughly 1,000 pounds of highly enriched uranium.

“There’s obviously a lot of internal division,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Wednesday.

“This is a battle between the pragmatists and the hardliners in Iran right now, and the president wants a unified response. And so, as we await that response, there’s a cease-fire.”

The report also indicated that Khamenei has transferred significant decision-making power to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the hardline military force.

“It was the Guards who came up with the strategy for Iran’s attacks on Israel and the Persian Gulf states, along with the closing of the strait to maritime traffic,” it said. “They were the ones who agreed to a temporary cease-fire with the United States and approved back-channel diplomacy and direct negotiations with the United States.

“They tapped Mr. Ghalibaf from among their own ranks to lead the talks with Vice President JD Vance in Islamabad.”

{Matzav.com}