Iran President met a 'voice in the dark', isn't sure it was Supreme Leader Mojtaba

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian was reportedly taken to a secret location in Tehran and granted only a brief meeting with a man introduced as Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to Iran International. The reported encounter, conducted inside a dark, tinted-window vehicle, has fuelled fresh questions over the secrecy surrounding Iran's leadership.According to the report, Pezeshkian was unable to see the man seated beside him and later questioned whether the voice he heard had indeed belonged to the country's new supreme leader. Their account of what they described as the only known meeting between the president and Iran's third supreme leader differs markedly from Pezeshkian's public version of events.Speaking at a gathering of trade association representatives in mid-May, Pezeshkian said he had spent two and a half hours with the new leader in what he described as a "cordial atmosphere." However, the report said that the meeting lasted only a few minutes, after which the president was asked to leave.According to the report, the meeting took place only after Pezeshkian repeatedly sought an audience with the supreme leader and threatened to resign. They said the leader's office agreed to the meeting under pressure but informed the president that, unlike previous practice, he would not be received at the supreme leader's official residence.Instead, Pezeshkian's security team reportedly took him to an undisclosed location in Tehran, where he was escorted from his vehicle into the back seat of a dark, tinted-window commercial car. The report claimed the supreme leader was already inside, but the vehicle was kept dark enough that the two men could not see each other. They also alleged that Khamenei's security personnel did not allow a handshake, and the conversation took place entirely by voice.The reported arrangement left Pezeshkian feeling humiliated, as per the report. Officials in the president's office told Iran International that he later questioned whether the person beside him had actually been the supreme leader, as he had only heard a voice during the brief meeting.Pezeshkian had earlier acknowledged that communicating with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "very difficult.""It is very difficult to communicate with him at the moment, but in any case, his presence is a very great source of strength for us so that we can continue," Pezeshkian said.Mojtaba Khamenei has continued to issue written statements, but his absence from public view since assuming Iran's top leadership has fuelled speculation about his relationship with senior officials and his whereabouts. Nearly five months after the Assembly of Experts selected him to succeed his father as supreme leader, no audio recording or video of him has been released.The prolonged silence has also drawn attention in Iran's state-aligned media. On Sunday, the Hamshahri newspaper's website published a video claiming that foreign intelligence agencies could use advanced acoustic analysis of audio recordings, including background noise, electrical grid frequency signatures and vocal characteristics, to identify the leader's location or assess his physical condition. The claims appeared to deepen, rather than dispel, speculation surrounding Khamenei's status.Conflicting assessments have also emerged internationally. Three weeks ago, US President Donald Trump said there was a "90 percent" chance that Mojtaba Khamenei had been killed, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has more recently said the Iranian leader is alive.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.