Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei hasn’t filmed an audio or video message since assuming power because his face and lips were badly burned in airstrikes on Feb, 28, according to a report — as President Trump says peace talks are inhibited by a lack of clear leadership in Tehran.
Khamenei, 56, “has not recorded a video or audio message … because he does not want to appear vulnerable or sound weak,” four Iranian officials told the New York Times, adding that one of Khamenei’s legs has been “operated on three times, and he is awaiting a prosthetic,” while he also has had surgery on a hand.
“His face and lips have been burned severely, making it difficult for him to speak [and] he will need plastic surgery,” the Times reported.
“Senior government officials do not visit him, fearing that Israel may trace them to him and kill him,” according to the report, which said most decision-making is being delegated to generals, rather than civilian political leaders.
“Messages to him are handwritten, sealed in envelopes and relayed via a human chain from one trusted courier to the next, who travel on highways and back roads, in cars and on motorcycles until they reach his hide-out. His guidance on issues snakes back the same way.”
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