What is Khamenei cooking? Secret meetings and the mysterious message to Russia | Report

Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, held four secret meetings with senior regime officials within 11 days, and sent a personal message to Russian President Putin via a senior Iranian security official. The meeting at the Kremlin dealt with regional security arrangements and a proposal for a gas pipeline from Russia to Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, continues to run the country away from the public eye, but a series of reports published today (Friday) reveals behind-the-scenes political and security activity. Within just 11 days in October, Khamenei held four meetings with senior regime officials, and simultaneously sent a personal message to Russian President Vladimir Putin via Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. The meeting at the Kremlin took place in the presence of Putin's foreign policy advisor, Yuri Ushakov, and the head of Russian military intelligence, Igor Kostyukov. The full content of the letter was not published, but Rezaei stated that Putin expressed willingness to assist in efforts to bring an end to the war. Alongside security issues, the sides also discussed a proposal to establish pipelines for transporting natural gas from Russia to Iran. The analysis published by Al Jazeera suggests that the series of meetings may indicate the formation of a decision-making mechanism at the top of the regime, at a time when Iran is required to choose between continuing diplomatic contacts and the possibility of further military escalation. The contacts are taking place against the backdrop of significant gaps between the positions of Washington and Tehran, with Iran conditioning the opening of talks on seven demands, including the lifting of sanctions and the release of frozen assets.