Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will not appear in public until the war with the United States and Israel ends and security conditions improve, Iranian sources told TASS on Friday. The source also added that his first contact with a foreign leader is likely to be Russian President Vladimir Putin.“For security reasons, His Excellency will not make a public appearance in the near future. The government is waiting for the situation to normalize. After that, he will make a public appearance,” the source said.Sources said Khamenei’s first contact with a foreign leader would likely be a phone call or meeting with Putin, underscoring the deepening ties between Tehran and Moscow during the war.Khamenei’s father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in a US-Israeli attack on February 28. Khamenei has not appeared in public since taking office in February. He was also absent from the funeral.Since he disappeared from public view, he has only communicated through written statements.On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a war against Iran, killing Khamenei’s father and several other senior Iranian officials. In June, Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate ceasefire on all fronts, including in Lebanon.However, the United States resumed large-scale air strikes against Iran on July 8, accusing Tehran of violating the agreement, especially in the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has denied the accusations, and Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on July 13 that Iran had never violated the memorandum and that Washington bore full responsibility for its collapse.The comments came amid reports of deepening divisions in Tehran, with hard-liners accusing the country’s civilian leadership of orchestrating a “soft coup” against the supreme leader.
