Where has Khamenei disappeared to? Iran's supreme leader cuts off all contacts

2025-06-23 08:31:07Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Ali Khamenei 

In a calm and soothing voice, before a crowd of believers, Ali Khamenei declares: "My life has no meaning. Even if they kill me, do not consider it a loss, as long as you remain steadfast to the principles of Imam Hussein."

We are winning this war, as long as we do not bow to power and greed.” It is a widely shared video by a few regime supporters who post it to show those who do not believe that the bearded leader, 86, is a brave man, ready for anything for his country.

Opponents respond with hundreds of comments, sometimes ironic, sometimes angry. “He is so heroic that not even his people know where he is,” writes a girl. “Hidden underground like worms, while the people are bombed and have no shelter to escape death,” replies a man.

bunker

It has been four days since the supreme leader was missing. It is known that he is in a secret bunker and that his family is with him. It is also known that he is not using any device to communicate with the outside world, so as not to be tracked by the enemy. The New York Times reports that the cleric has stopped all electronic communication and speaks to his commanders through a "trusted associate", for fear of being assassinated in the style of Hassan Nasrallah.

The second front of the war, represented by infiltrations by Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, has created paranoia among the people of the Islamic Republic. State media is issuing warnings to the population: beware of cell phone tracking.

They explain that the Israeli military may have used phone tracking to locate targets — people — that need to be eliminated, such as nuclear scientists. This would also be the reason why Iran has been isolated for days and without internet. Authorities say they have cut off the connection “to protect Iranians.”

A statement questioned by many citizens, as the suspicion and distrust of the ayatollahs, as always, turned against the people themselves: "Checkpoints have tripled, as have arrests. They just hanged another boy on charges of being an Israeli spy," writes a student from Tehran.

Silence

It has already been reported that neither the so-called moderate President Masoud Pezeshkian nor Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi have been able to reach the Ayatollah. This silence is said to be the reason why a secret meeting with American officials in Istanbul was canceled on Friday.

In today's mind, it was perhaps the last chance Donald Trump could give diplomacy before pressing the "war" button. Two inside sources reveal to an Iranian newspaper that other important figures, such as former President Hassan Rouhani, former Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani, and former Judiciary Chief Sadegh Larijani, have also tried in vain to contact Khamenei.

Corriere cannot independently confirm these statements, but if they are not speculation or propaganda, they would reinforce a silence that risks destabilizing the situation. Although, as a counterbalance to the crisis, in recent days the ayatollah is reported to have mentioned three names as his possible successors./Corriere della Sera


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