Pezeshkian met Khamenei in a dark car - then asked: 'Was it really him?'

According to a report by Iran International, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Mojtaba Khamenei in a dark car, without eye contact or a handshake, and wondered if it was indeed the leader. The report, not officially confirmed, contradicts Pezeshkian's earlier description of a friendly meeting in May. Khamenei, elected about five months ago, has not been documented since.

According to a report by Iran International, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was led to a secret location and met Mojtaba Khamenei inside a car with dark windows, without seeing him or shaking his hand. The two sat in the back seat, heard only each other's voices, and the conversation lasted only a few minutes. After the meeting, Pezeshkian wondered: 'Was it really the leader?' The report, not confirmed by any official source, presents a completely different version from Pezeshkian's earlier description in mid-May, when he told of a friendly two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Khamenei. It was also reported that Khamenei's office agreed to the meeting only after pressure from the president, and that his request for another meeting at his official residence was denied. The report comes amid the heavy secrecy surrounding Khamenei, who since being elected as the third leader about five months ago has had no audio or visual documentation published. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said in July that he had not seen Khamenei recently. If the details are correct, they may indicate tense relations between the president and the supreme leader and an attempt to centralize control.