Where is the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Iranians ask

With the watching nation, the host on Iranian state television asked the question that so many people in Iran – from the political elite to street people – wondered.

“People are very worried about the supreme chief,” the host told an Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday. “Can you tell us how it is?”

He noted that viewers had sent a flood of messages asking for the same thing. But the manager, Mehdi Fazaeli, the chief of the Khamenei archives office, did not give a direct response.

Instead, Fazaeli said that he too had received numerous requests for information from officials and other disturbing people for Ayatollah after the furious bombing campaign by Israel and the United States.

“We should all pray,” said Fazaeli.

“People who are responsible for the protection of the supreme chief do their job well,” he added. “God wants -, our people can celebrate victory next to their leader, God wants it.”

Mr. Khamenei, who has the last word on key decisions in Iran, has not been seen publicly or heard for almost a week, despite the extraordinary crisis that his country has been confronted.

In only the past few days, the United States has bombed three of Iranian nuclear installations, Iran has retaliated by drawing ballistic missiles from an American Base in Qatar, Iran and Israel accepted a ceasefire This entered into force Tuesday morning.

Through all this, Mr. Khamenei – that those responsible say take shelter in a bunker And refrain from electronic communication to prevent assassination attempts against him – has been absent, not publishing any public declaration or recorded messages.

His absence surprised and upset everyone from political initiates to the general public.

Mohsen Khalifeh, Khaneman’s editor -in -chief, a daily newspaper focused on real estate development, said in an interview that “the absence of Mr. Khamenei, we made all of us who love him very worried”. Recognizing a possibility that two weeks ago would have seemed unthinkable, Mr. Khalifeh added that if Mr. Khamenei was dead, his funeral procession would be “the most glorious and the most historical”.

As a supreme leader, Mr. Khamenei has the last word on all the main questions of the State. As commander -in -chief of the armed forces, he should approve any military decision as important as the Attack on the American basis or the cease-fire contract with Israel.

The ceasefire agreement, requested by President Trump and mediated by the Emir of Qatar, seems to have been negotiated quickly. However, military commanders and government representatives have been escaped if they have met or spoke with Mr. Khamenei in recent days.

His public silence has led to a wave of speculation and doubt: how much was Mr. Khamenei involved in the most recent decisions, given the many potential difficulties or delays to reach it? Does he always supervise the country on a daily basis? Is he injured, sick or even alive?

Hamzeh Safavi – Political analyst and son of General Yahya Safavi, commander of the body of the Guards of Islamic Revolutionaries and Higher Military Advisor of Mr. Khamenei – said that Iranian security officials thought that Israel could still try to assassinate Mr. Khamenei, even during a cease -fire. Thus, he said, they apply extreme security protocols, including limited contact with the outside world.

“There is a pragmatic opinion which deals with the management of the country of this crisis,” he said, empowering other leaders, such as President Masoud Pezeshkian.

However, Mr. Safavi said that he thought Mr. Khamenei was weighed from key decisions.

Despite this, some of the supporters of Mr. Khamenei publish on social networks and say they are in SMS that they cannot feel that Iran has been victorious in the war against Israel until they see or hear the supreme leader.

Four senior Iranian officials, familiar with current political discussions within the government, said that, in the absence of Mr. Khamenei, politicians and military commanders formed alliances and arguing power. These factions have different visions of how Iran should move forward with its nuclear program, its negotiations with the United States and the dead end with Israel.

The faction that seems to have the upper hand is pressure for moderation and diplomacy, said the four officials. He included Mr. Pezeshkian, who publicly reported his desire to return to the negotiating table with the United States even after Mr. Trump bombed Iranian nuclear installations. The allies of Mr. Pezeshkian include the head of judicial power, Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, who is close to the supreme chief and the new commander of the armed forces, Major-General Abdolrahim Mousavi.

At a meeting of the cabinet on Wednesday, Mr. Pezeshkian – who came to the post last year promising to do Iran More prosperous, more socially open and more committed to the West – said it was time to change the management of the country.

“War and unity among people have created an opportunity to change our opinions on the governance and behavior of our civil servants,” Pezeshkian told his office, according to a story of the meeting published by the president’s office. “This is a gold opportunity for change.”

The Iranian government is trying to overcome the wave of nationalist fervor that has emerged in reaction to the withered air strikes of Israel, which, according to officials, have killed more than 600 people in Iran. The National Symphony of Tehran presented itself during an outdoor concert on Place Azadi – a symbolic benchmark called “Freedom” – in Tehran on Tuesday. A light show followed with photos of emergency respondents projected on the tower in the center of the center.

But there are also other factions in the running for influence, according to officials.

A rival conservative faction, led by an influential politician of the hard line, Saeed Jalili, publicly criticized the president and his Minister of Foreign Affairs, questioning the legitimacy of what she called a “surprise” ceasefire and condemning any return to nuclear negotiations with the United States.

Among this group, hardliners who hold the majority in Parliament and certain senior commanders in the revolutionary guards.

Foad Izadi, a conservative political analyst close to Mr. Jalili and the guards, said in an article on social networks That Mr. Pezeshkian’s speech on negotiations now gives the impression that “the Iranian president does not have the political competence necessary to govern the country”.

Ali Ahmadnia, head of communications of the president, retaliated In an article on social networks, Conducting the conservative attacks against the president and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

“We are not supposed to fight Israel day and night for 12 days and now deal with you! Who are busy ending the enemy’s puzzle with your pens,” he wrote.

Iran’s plan for its damaged nuclear installations remains an imminent question. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abbas Araghchi, and the head of the Iranian atomic energy organization, Mohammad Eslami, said in interviews with the local media that Iran would reconstruct and revive its nuclear program and will continue to enrich uranium.

Sanam Vakil, director of the Middle East and North Africa at Chatham House, a research group, said that the absence of Mr. Khamenei was notable and a sign that Iranian leaders were “extremely prudent and the spirit of security”.

“If we do not see Khamenei by Ashura”, an important religious procession for Shiite Muslims observed in Iran in early July of this year, Ms. Vakil said: “It is a bad sign. He must show her face.”