Iran’s supreme leader reportedly relies on couriers for secret communications
US officials say delayed responses slowed ongoing US-Iran negotiations
Mojtaba Khamenei remains hidden after Operation Epic Fury strikes
US intelligence indicated that Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is holed up in an undisclosed location, cut off from normal communication channels and reachable only through an elaborate network of couriers designed specifically to conceal his whereabouts, two officials told CBS News.
One of the central reasons why negotiations between the US and Iran have moved so haltingly may have to do with the physical circumstances of Iran's supreme leader, according to US officials.
By design, even senior Iranian officials have no direct means of contacting him, meaning every piece of information sent his way arrives with a significant delay — and so does any response.
"This is why you see people saying things like, 'The supreme leader has agreed to the framework,' or 'We're waiting to hear back on the final deal points,'" one official said. "Every piece of information he receives is dated and there's a lot of latency to his responses."
Khamenei, who was wounded during US and Israeli strikes in Operation Epic Fury, has not been seen or heard in public since before the war began. He is taking extreme precautions to avoid the fate of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled Iran from 1989 until his death on February 28 and was killed in the strikes.
The communication difficulties extend well beyond the supreme leader. Most Iranian officials at senior levels are spending weeks inside heavily fortified bunkers, avoiding contact with each other unless absolutely necessary. The paralysis this creates has produced a degree of dark humour among those watching from Washington.
"Watching them try to figure out how to talk to each other is almost like watching a sitcom. They are completely exasperated," one US official said.
Despite the logistical difficulties, a senior administration official that Khamenei had agreed to the broad contours of the current draft agreement. Trump posted on Truth Social that he expected a final response within a few days. Iranian negotiators authorised to work with the Trump administration have been given broad direction from the supreme leader on which issues they can discuss and which remain off the table — but the courier-based system means the guidance arrives slowly and updating it in real time is effectively impossible.
