New Delhi: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was allegedly driven to a secret location in Tehran and made to meet the country’s Supreme Leader under extraordinary security conditions, according to a report by Iran International. The report claims the president was unable to see the person he was speaking to during the meeting and later questioned whether the voice he heard even belonged to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
If accurate, the account presents a strikingly different picture from the one Pezeshkian has publicly shared about his interaction with the country’s highest authority.
Report Claims Meeting Lasted Only Minutes
According to Iran International, Pezeshkian had told representatives of trade associations in mid-May that he spent nearly two-and-a-half hours with the Supreme Leader in what he described as a “cordial atmosphere.”
However, people familiar with the matter told the outlet that the meeting was far shorter than portrayed publicly, lasting only a few minutes before the president was asked to leave.
The report claims the meeting itself took place only after Pezeshkian repeatedly sought an audience and allegedly threatened to resign if his requests continued to be ignored.
Driven to Secret Location, Escorted Into Tinted Vehicle
Rather than being summoned to the Supreme Leader’s official residence, the Iranian president was allegedly directed to an undisclosed location elsewhere in Tehran.
According to the report, Pezeshkian’s security detail dropped him at the site, where he was transferred into the rear seat of a commercial vehicle with heavily tinted windows.
The outlet claims Mojtaba Khamenei was already inside the vehicle.
The interior was reportedly kept in complete darkness, preventing either individual from seeing the other. Security personnel allegedly did not permit the two men to shake hands, leaving them to communicate only through conversation.
‘Was That Really the Supreme Leader?’
The unusual circumstances reportedly left Pezeshkian deeply unsettled. Citing sources within the president’s office, Iran International reported that Pezeshkian later wondered whether the voice he heard actually belonged to Mojtaba Khamenei, given that he never saw the person seated beside him.
It remains unclear whether the remark reflected genuine uncertainty or frustration over the secrecy surrounding the encounter.
The report further claimed that Pezeshkian later sought another meeting—this time at the Supreme Leader’s official residence—but the request has reportedly not been granted.
The account stands in sharp contrast to Pezeshkian’s earlier public remarks, in which he described the interaction as lengthy and cordial.
The reported discrepancy has fuelled fresh speculation about the nature of access to Iran’s top leadership and the extent to which even senior elected officials are able to meet the Supreme Leader.
Neither the Iranian presidency nor the office of the Supreme Leader has publicly responded to the claims made in the report.
The report also highlighted the continued absence of public appearances by Mojtaba Khamenei. According to Iran International, no audio or video recording of the Supreme Leader has been released during the nearly five months since he assumed the country’s top post.
The outlet noted that Hamshahri newspaper recently published a report suggesting that foreign intelligence agencies could potentially trace or analyse audio recordings of the Supreme Leader by studying acoustic signatures, electrical grid frequency patterns, background noise and vocal characteristics to infer location, injuries or even psychological condition.
Rather than putting speculation to rest, the report said such explanations have only intensified questions about the leader’s prolonged absence from public view.
The uncertainty has been compounded by contradictory statements from international leaders and Iranian officials.
US President Donald Trump recently claimed he believed there was a 90 per cent chance that Mojtaba Khamenei had been killed. Israel, however, has maintained that the Iranian leader remains alive.
Within Iran, official accounts have also varied. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a July interview that only a limited number of people had met Mojtaba Khamenei since he assumed office. A day later, Pezeshkian reportedly offered a different assessment, saying the number of meetings with the Supreme Leader had increased.