The wounded leader of Iran continues to stay in hiding, and is treated, among other things, by the president

Iran’s leader Mujtaba Khamenei continues to stay in hiding, and access to him is difficult and very limited, according to a report in the New York Times. He is surrounded mainly by a medical team that treats him. President Masoud Pazkhian, a heart surgeon by training, and Iran’s Minister of Health are also involved in his treatment.

The report describes Khamenei’s associates – Hossein Ta’ab, Mohsen Razai and Mohammad-Bakr Kalibaf as the “triangle of power” of decision-making in Iran. It was also reported that the four consider each other colleagues and not subordinates.

It states that the senior generals of the Revolutionary Guards are the deciding voice in the decision-making process, and they are the ones who ordered the cancellation of the arrival of the Iranian delegation to Pakistan this week before the second round of talks, due to the dispute surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade. “In the end, the generals won and the talks collapsed.”

According to the report in the American daily, senior commanders in the Revolutionary Guards and senior government officials do not visit him for fear that Israel will follow them – and thus locate him.

Regarding his medical condition, one of Khamenei’s legs has been operated on three times and he is waiting for a prosthesis, according to the report. He underwent surgery on his hand and slowly and gradually his function is returning to him. His face and lips were badly burned, making it difficult for him to speak – and later he is expected to need plastic surgery. At the same time, it is claimed that he remains clear-headed and involved in the administration of the state, which is carried out in the form of a board together with the commanders of the Revolutionary Guards.

Khamenei has yet to publish a video message to the nation and has only expressed himself in written messages. The reason for this, according to the report, is because he doesn’t want to appear vulnerable or sound weak.

The messages to him are delivered only by hand, in envelopes, through a chain of messengers moving along main and side roads, in cars and motorcycles – to his hiding place. The instructions he gives to his men are also repeated in the same way. Due to the situation he is in and the fear for his safety – he actually delegated various powers to the generals, at least for now, but reformist factions and not only extremists also take part in the political discussions.