Mojtaba is alive and still has final authority: Pezeshkian puts rumours to rest
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has confirmed that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, seeking to put an end to mounting speculation over the whereabouts and condition of Tehran's top leader.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Pezeshkian said Khamenei remains in charge and continues to carry out his duties. He accused the US and Israel of fuelling speculation because they have been unable to locate the supreme leader.
"Thank God our supreme leader is alive, and it has a kind of sincere relation, and he's doing his job within the same framework," Pezeshkian told India Today's Foreign Affairs Editor Geeta Mohan.
The comments are significant because Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was injured in US-Israeli airstrikes six months ago. The strikes launched the Iran war and killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Addressing questions about the intense speculation surrounding the new supreme leader, Pezeshkian said Iran's senior leadership had been targeted in a campaign that included strikes against leaders, commanders and scientists.
"You know, show me the leader. I know that. With the same data that they have, they have targeted most of our leaders and commanders, our scientists, even in their houses, next to their family members," he said.
The Iranian President said that uncertainty over Khamenei's location had itself become part of the information war surrounding Iran's leadership.
"Since they cannot locate his exact place, they are spreading such speculations regarding our supreme leader, to do the same to him as well," Pezeshkian said. He accused Washington and Jerusalem of using their military and intelligence capabilities to target Iranian officials and other figures across the region, describing the strikes as state terrorism.
This reflects the atmosphere of secrecy around Iran's leadership since the war began. Khamenei has largely stayed out of public view and did not even appear at his father's funeral, fuelling questions about his health, his ability to govern and who ultimately controls major decisions in Tehran.WHO HAS THE FINAL SAY IN IRAN?
Pezeshkian was also pressed on how authority is being exercised under the new supreme leader and whether the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the president himself or another senior figure could have the final say.
His answer was unequivocal: the supreme leader remains the ultimate authority.
"Well, naturally, in our country it is the supreme leader who has the final say. It has been the same from the first day, and now it is the same. Naturally, he is the person who will have the final say," Pezeshkian said.KHAMENEI'S WHEREABOUTS REMAIN UNCLEAR
While Pezeshkian confirmed that Khamenei is alive and working, he did not disclose where the supreme leader is currently located. Instead, he portrayed the secrecy around Khamenei's whereabouts as a security necessity after the killing of senior Iranian figures in targeted strikes.
The Iranian President also used the interview to accuse the US and Israel of deliberately targeting Iranian leadership and civilian infrastructure while presenting those actions as part of a campaign against terrorism.
"They kill people very easily. For a single person, they kill a whole family and they destroy a whole building, then they say they killed a terrorist," Pezeshkian said. Calling the situation "a catastrophe", he argued that Iran's adversaries were applying a new logic to warfare in which leaders, scientists, students and infrastructure could all become targets.
"They are real terrorists, they are state terrorists," Pezeshkian said.- EndsPublished By: Satyam SinghPublished On: Sep 12, 2026 21:28 IST
