Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian acknowledged Wednesday that communication with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has become “very difficult at the moment,” while insisting that the country’s new leader remains a source of strength as Iran confronts mounting military and economic pressure.

In an interview published on the Iranian president’s official website, Pezeshkian claimed that the United States and Israel killed Iran’s previous supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, on February 28 in a failed attempt to bring about the collapse of the Islamic Republic.

According to Pezeshkian, the operation did not achieve its intended goal. “However, the country continued, and our (new) beloved leader was selected,” he said. “Our new dear leader’s presence is a very great strength for us to be able to continue this path, although communication with him is very difficult at the moment.”

Pezeshkian went on to describe the challenges facing Iran as the most severe in the country’s recent history. He pointed to intensified banking sanctions, tighter restrictions on international financial transactions, a naval blockade, and the continuing war as evidence that Iran is enduring its “most difficult” period.

Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Ali Khamenei, was chosen by Iran’s Assembly of Experts in early March to serve as the country’s new supreme leader.