Iran's unseen Supreme Leader may turn to Putin as first foreign contact amid war

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei will not make any public appearances until the war with the United States and Israel is over and security conditions improve, an Iranian source told TASS on Friday. The source also added that his first engagement with a foreign leader could be with Russian President Vladimir Putin."His Excellency will not make any public appearances in the near future for security reasons. The government is waiting for the situation to normalise. After that, he will appear in public," the source said.The source said Khamenei's first contact with a foreign leader could be a phone call or a meeting with Putin, underscoring the deepening ties between Tehran and Moscow amid the war.Khamenei has not been seen in public since he took office in February, following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli strikes on February 28. He was also absent at the funeral.Since his disapperance from the public eye he has communicated only through written statements.The United States and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28, killing Khamenei's father and several other senior Iranian officials. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding that provided for an immediate ceasefire across all fronts, including Lebanon.However, the US resumed large-scale airstrikes on Iran on July 8, accusing Tehran of violating the agreement, particularly over the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has denied the accusations, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stating on July 13 that Iran had never breached the memorandum and that Washington bore full responsibility for its collapse.The comments come amid reports of deepening internal rifts in Tehran, with hardliners accusing the country's civilian leadership of engineering a "soft coup" against the supreme leader.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.