Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is continuing to exert major influence over Tehran’s military and diplomatic strategy despite serious injuries suffered during the war, according to multiple people familiar with US intelligence assessments.

The reports mark one of the clearest indications yet from American intelligence sources that the 56-year-old cleric remains deeply involved in directing Iran’s response to the conflict and ongoing negotiations with the United States.

Sources familiar with the intelligence told CNN that Khamenei has been overseeing discussions tied to cease-fire efforts and talks involving the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz while operating from an undisclosed location.

According to those reports, Khamenei suffered severe physical injuries during US and Israeli strikes earlier in the war, including the loss of a leg and extensive disfigurement.

Despite those injuries, individuals close to his inner circle have reportedly described him as remaining mentally alert and actively engaged in high-level decision-making involving senior figures in the Islamic Republic.

The younger Khamenei has not appeared publicly or delivered any televised remarks since taking over leadership following the appointment as successor to his father in March.

Iranian state media has only broadcast written statements attributed to him three times since he assumed power.

Iranian officials, however, are rejecting reports suggesting the country’s new supreme leader remains in poor physical condition.

Khamenei “is now in complete health,” Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol in the office of Iran’s supreme leader, said Friday.

“Thank God, he is in good health,” Hosseini told an Iranian crowd.

“The enemy is spreading all kinds of rumors and false claims. … He will speak to you when the time is right.”

Hosseini acknowledged that Khamenei had sustained injuries, saying “a small piece of shrapnel had hit him behind the ear,” while insisting the ayatollah is recovering well.

American intelligence sources, however, reportedly believe Khamenei suffered far more serious wounds, including severe burns affecting parts of his face, torso, arm, and one leg.

The reports also indicate that Khamenei has sharply limited his communications in an effort to avoid detection. He is reportedly avoiding electronic devices entirely and communicating either face to face with trusted officials or through handwritten and courier-delivered messages.

Although Khamenei is said to remain heavily involved in shaping Iran’s broader wartime strategy and negotiations, officials within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are believed to be overseeing much of the government’s day-to-day operational management inside Tehran.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that he recently held a lengthy in-person meeting with Khamenei, marking what appeared to be the first publicly reported direct encounter with the country’s ruler since the war began.

“What struck me most during this meeting was the vision and the humble and sincere approach of the supreme leader of the Islamic Revolution,” Pezeshkian gushed, according to Iranian state media.

{Matzav.com}