The mystery grows over the health of the new supreme leader of Iran, who remains hidden after almost half a year

Iran tries to project stability as doubts grow about the health status of Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader of the country after the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the first American and Israeli attacks against the country on February 28. Suspicions have resurfaced after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian admitted that communication with the country's leader is currently "very difficult".The statements, made in an interview broadcast by Iranian state television, have further fueled speculation about the physical condition of Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, who has not appeared publicly since taking office. The new leader has so far only communicated through written messages and did not appear at his father's funeral ceremonies last July.“It is very difficult to communicate with him at the moment, but, in any case, his presence is a great source of strength for us to continue,” stated Pezeshkian, without offering further details on what exactly this difficulty of interaction means. The Iranian president, however, took the opportunity to reject versions describing Khamenei as a weakened figure and assured that the meetings they have held have been “productive” and marked by “great kindness and very solid logic.”According to information published in March by the American newspaper The New York Times, the new supreme leader was reportedly seriously injured in the American and Israeli attack that killed his father. At that time, several media outlets reported that Mojtaba Khamenei was in good mental condition, but had suffered significant burns to his face and lips. He also reportedly underwent an operation on one of his hands and required plastic facial surgery, while awaiting a prosthesis for a leg. Iranian sources have assured that he only suffered a minor injury, but the Iranian regime has not released any video or audio recording of the religious leader. This week, the Iranian newspaper Al-Mashhari has assured that the decision not to release recordings of the supreme leader is due to security reasons. According to this newspaper, an audio or video could reveal his location and give clues about his physical condition.Tension within the regime

The statements by the president of Iran come at a time of tension within Iranian power structures. The Iranian media outlet Tabnak has reported that Khamenei would have warned Pezeshkian that he would accept his resignation if the president presented it again. This episode revisits doubts about the relationship between the presidency and the most influential centers of power in the Islamic Republic. After months of tensions between the government and the military and security apparatuses of the Islamic Republic, in May, Pezeshkian had already considered resigning because he felt he could not fully exercise his constitutional responsibilities.Several Iranian media outlets reported that the president had sent a letter to the supreme leader's office denouncing that the government had been sidelined from the state's main decisions and that the power vacuum had allowed the harder factions of the Revolutionary Guard to progressively take control of strategic issues. Both the Tasnim agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guard, and the Deputy Director of Communication and Information of the Presidency Office, Seyed Mehdi Tabatabaei, denied this information and assured that Pezeshkian would continue to exercise his duties normally.The uncertainty about the country's leader's condition has also begun to spread to Iranian society. During the days of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's funeral, several citizens consulted by Reuters expressed their concern about the prolonged public absence of the new supreme leader. Some warned that this situation could increase political uncertainty in the country, while others insisted that people needed to see that there was a leader running the country.All this comes at a time when Tehran is in full negotiation with Oman to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranian Foreign Ministry assures that the talks with Oman to establish new maritime traffic routes through the Strait of Hormuz are “about to conclude”. Since the resumption of attacks between the United States and Iran on June 17, maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has been drastically reduced. This Wednesday only two ships crossed this route, according to maritime traffic monitoring data compiled by the company Kpler, compared to eight the previous day. Before the war that began on February 28, an average of 130 to 140 ships passed through it daily.