Iran's new supreme leader is starting to show his hand.
The 56-year-old leader was elected around March 9, just days after a February 28 airstrike killed his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and left him injured.
Since then, Mojtaba has not appeared in public. That silence raised questions about who was really in charge. Now, according to the president, the answer is clearer.
The president also reported that during private discussions, Khamenei said, "We need to break out of the 'neither war, nor peace' situation."
That phrase captures the mood. US-Iran hostilities are intensifying, with daily skirmishes that show no sign of stopping.
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The transition of power happened rapidly after the airstrike. His injury from the same attack that killed his father initially kept him out of public view, fueling uncertainty about his authority. Pezeshkian's recent comments are the first official confirmation that the new leader is fully engaged in directing strategy, ending speculation about a power vacuum.
The president's comments are not just an update on internal politics. They come at a moment when Iran needs to show it has a functioning chain of command.
With the old supreme leader gone and a new one still getting his footing, the government wants to send a signal that decisions are being made.
The internal rift reflects a deeper pressure on the new leader. Unlike his father, who was prepared for leadership over decades, Mojtaba Khamenei did not undergo the same grooming for the supreme leader position. He now must consolidate his authority while handling a tense and unstable confrontation with the United States.
The collapse of the June peace deal has left both sides in a gray zone of low-intensity conflict, and hardliners in Iran's parliament and Revolutionary Guard are demanding a tougher response - including direct retaliation for the airstrike that killed Ali Khamenei. Pezeshkian's acknowledgment of the supreme leader's hands‑on role is meant to reassure allies and adversaries alike that the chain of command is intact.
Iran's Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has been working the diplomatic side. Momeni traveled to Islamabad for discussions with the administration of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, a key intermediary in the conflict. It remains uncertain whether the United States requested that Pakistan contact Iranian officials to help reduce tensions.
This diplomatic track runs parallel to the military escalation. The daily skirmishes have primarily involved naval confrontations in the Persian Gulf and drone exchanges along the Iraq-Iran border. Neither side appears ready for a full-scale war, yet neither is willing to back down.
Iran's new supreme leader must balance the hardliners' call for revenge with the pragmatic need to avoid a devastating conflict, especially while his own authority is still being tested internally. The president's confirmation that Khamenei is actively directing strategy serves both as a message to Washington that there is a clear decision-maker and as a warning to domestic rivals that the leadership is unified.
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