Iranian President Says He Recently Met With Iran’s Top Leader Khamenei

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen or heard from since he was appointed.

A woman holds up pictures of Iranian leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei (L) and his father, the slain Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a state-organized rally celebrating the birthday of Imam Reza, the 8th Shiite Muslims' imam, and supporting the supreme leader, in Tehran, Iran, on April 29, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP Photo

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has said that he recently met with Iran’s new highest-level leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, for nearly two hours, according to state-run media PressTV.

The Iranian president said the meeting lasted around two and a half hours, and it was described by PressTV as “completely direct, frank, and accompanied by a sense of closeness and trust.” The report did not say what Pezeshkian and Khamenei discussed, nor did it provide details about when or where the meeting took place.

Pezeshkian also “emphasized the need to strengthen cohesion, trust, and empathy at all levels of the country’s administrative management,” according to a write-up of the conversation provided by PressTV.

Since he was named as the country’s top leader on March 8, Khamenei has not been seen in public or heard from directly. Statements that he has made about the Iran war, including one released late last month about the Iranian regime exerting new control over the Strait of Hormuz, have only been in a written format and released through state-run media.

Khamenei’s father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was the former top leader and was killed in the initial round of U.S.–Israeli strikes against Iran in late February that also killed dozens of other Iranian leaders.

Israeli officials said in mid-March that the younger Khamenei sustained injuries to his leg during the U.S. strikes on the same day his father died. The Israeli officials did not elaborate on the severity of the injury.

Later, U.S. Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Khamenei was injured and possibly disfigured, noting at the time that the leader put out a “weak” statement that was “written.”

“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why,” Hegseth said. “His father is dead, he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run, and he lacks legitimacy.”

The purported meeting between Pezeshkian and Khamenei comes as Tehran said it was reviewing the latest American proposals on ending the war, as U.S. President Donald Trump warned the country could face a new wave of bombing unless a deal is reached that includes reopening the crucial Strait of Hormuz to international shipping.

Earlier this week, Trump announced via social media that a U.S. effort to secure the strait would end, citing progress on a possible peace deal and a request from Pakistan’s leadership.

“We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom ... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks at a press conference in Tehran, Iran, on Sept. 16, 2024. Majid Saeedi/Getty Images

Iran has effectively sealed off the strait by threatening to deploy mines, drones, missiles, and fast-attack craft. The United States has countered by blockading Iranian ports and mounting escorted transits for commercial vessels.

On a normal day, the strait allows for the passage of roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas. With traffic through the waterway constricted, oil prices have risen above $100 per barrel. On Thursday morning, the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil fell to $97.

According to the American Automobile Association’s daily monitor of gas prices in the United States, the average price for a gallon of regular gas rose to $4.55 nationwide on Thursday, up by 2 cents from the previous day.

Reuters contributed to this report.