(AFP) – Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said Wednesday that communication with the country’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was very “difficult at the moment”._x000D_
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Khamenei, who was wounded in the US-Israeli strike that launched the Middle East war, has not appeared in public since succeeding his father, who was killed in the same attack._x000D_
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“It is very difficult to communicate with him at the moment, but in any case, his presence is a very great source of strength for us so that we can continue,” Pezeshkian said._x000D_
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The younger Khamenei has communicated through written statements but his low profile at a time when Iran is in conflict with the United States has led to speculation about his relations with other top officials._x000D_
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He notably did not appear at his father’s funeral ceremonies last month._x000D_
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Pezeshkian defended his leader, however, insisting he had been able to hold productive meetings with him and been met with “kindness and very sound logic”._x000D_
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“Unfortunately, the current situation allows some malicious people to describe him differently and to present a different image of him,” he said.
