Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence fuels infighting between Iranian factions

Iran’s political factions have descended into bitter public infighting over the conduct and aims of the ongoing war, fueled by the prolonged absence of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said a Bloomberg report.

Khamenei, who succeeded his father after the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-‘Israeli’ strike in late February, has not appeared in public since assuming the top post in March.

His low profile has created a leadership vacuum that has allowed longstanding rivalries to spill into the open.

President Masoud Pezeshkian recently told state television that he found it “very difficult” to reach the supreme leader, remarks that immediately intensified speculation about Khamenei’s health, security, and effective control.

Days later, Pezeshkian clarified that the two had held a lengthy private meeting lasting “seven or eight hours.”

“It was a very good meeting,” he said, adding that they discussed Iran’s worsening living standards and that Khamenei’s foremost concern was “unity and cohesion” in the country.

The exchange followed weeks of sharp public disputes in Tehran.

Hard-liners have demanded Pezeshkian’s resignation over his support for a fragile peace deal with the United States, while the president has insisted in a lengthy television interview that he will not step down.

The divide pits more pragmatic figures, including Pezeshkian and parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who view military pressure as leverage for a negotiated settlement, against ultra-hardliners who reject compromise and push for total victory and tighter domestic controls.

Analysts say the absence of a visible, accessible supreme leader has removed the traditional referee that Ali Khamenei long provided in internal disputes.

“Mojtaba Khamenei does not make public appearances, is not easily accessible, and reportedly communicates with senior officials through intermediaries. As a result, it’s much more difficult for him to provide clear and decisive leadership or quickly resolve disagreements within the political establishment,” said Arman Mahmoudian, a research fellow at the University of South Florida.

Economist and former Pezeshkian adviser Saeed Laylaz captured the core split: “There’s always been one group that says we need a strategic agreement with the U.S. and there is a group that wants an endless war with the U.S.”

Both camps have sought to claim the new supreme leader’s backing, even as Khamenei remains largely invisible and communicates mainly through intermediaries or written statements.

The power dynamics have shifted since the elder Khamenei’s death.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has consolidated greater influence over wartime strategy and key decisions, while the new leader’s reduced public role has left civilian officials struggling to project cohesion.