Iranian president says contact with supreme leader 'very difficult'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a televised interview that reaching Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is currently 'very difficult,' without clarifying what he meant by 'contact.'

Khamenei has not appeared in public since succeeding his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike in February.

Pezeshkian said Khamenei's presence remains a source of strength and that he has held productive meetings with him, receiving courteous and rational treatment.

Pezeshkian said some hostile people have exploited the situation to present a distorted image of the leader.

Earlier this year, senior Iranian officials said the new supreme leader was seriously injured but mentally sound, with severe burns to his face and lips, surgery on one hand, and a need for plastic surgery and a prosthetic leg.

In May, conflicting accounts emerged: initial reports of life-changing injuries were followed by Iran's statement that Khamenei had only a 'small scratch' behind his ear.

Various reports claim Khamenei has backed IRGC Commander Ahmad Vaei in key decisions, including talks, and has given Pezeshkian an ultimatum.

An Israeli broadcaster, citing sources aware of Tehran's situation, said Khamenei refused to discourage the president's resignation threat, effectively removing his main political tool.

Pezeshkian reportedly threatened resignation several times during policy disagreements and formally submitted a resignation in May, complaining that his government was excluded from national security and foreign policy decisions.