Iran Reports Meetings Between Mojtaba Khamenei and Two Officials; Leader Still Unseen in Public

Iran's judiciary said on Saturday that its chief, Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei, held a rare meeting with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since being appointed in March to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The judiciary's Mizan Online website said they discussed securing public rights, fighting corruption and seeking compensation for material and moral damages that it blamed on the United States and Israel. Separately, Iranian state media said on Wednesday that Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf met and held talks with Khamenei. The Islamic Republic News Agency cited the information portal of the leader's office, which said they discussed the military, economic and psychological pressure from the enemy, national unity, public presence at gatherings, and cooperation between government and parliament on economic hardship. Ali Khamenei was killed, along with senior military commanders, in a US-Israeli strike in central Tehran at the start of the war, on February 28. Mojtaba was said to have been injured in the same attack. President Pezeshkian said Iranians are struggling to buy food during the conflict and urged an end to the stalemate.

Right-leaning Breitbart leads with the Ghalibaf meeting. Its headline says Iran "claims" the meeting happened and calls the leader missing, and it lists the instructions attributed to Khamenei. It then adds its own commentary that the regime shot thousands of people at earlier public gatherings and now wants shows of support to deter the US and Israel. Left-leaning outlets had not reported this story at the time of writing, while alternative and right-leaning outlets had. The Times of Israel and Middle East Eye, the alternative outlets, lead instead with the judiciary chief's meeting, the compensation talks and the corruption agenda. The Times of Israel adds Pezeshkian's remarks on food hardship. Both sides rely on Iranian official statements and note that Khamenei has not been seen in public. They differ on which official met him and on tone: Breitbart is skeptical and stresses regime motives, while the alternative outlets report the official readout more directly.