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Third-Year Meeting in Tehran
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei around the start of the president’s third year in office in late July, state media said on Sunday, as questions about the supreme leader’s health remained unanswered.
“On July 21, the president said interactions with the supreme leader were "increasing day by day"”
The meeting, described by Reuters as covering military affairs and the economy, included securing resources, managing foreign exchange and energy use, and economic ties with foreign partners.
The Reuters report said Pezeshkian had given differing accounts about his access to Khamenei in recent weeks, with the president saying on July 21 that interactions were "increasing day by day" and later saying in early August that communicating with Khamenei was "very difficult".
A separate report cited Qasem Ghorayshi, commander of the Basij, as saying footage of Mojtaba Khamenei taking part in public events and meeting with military commanders would be released soon, after Khamenei had not appeared in public since being appointed supreme leader in March following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in US-Israeli airstrikes.
Footage Promise and Rumors
Basij Organisation deputy Qasem Qoraishi said on Sunday that footage and other documentation showing Khamenei among the public and out in the streets, as well as in meetings with armed forces commanders, would be released in the future.
Reuters quoted Qoraishi saying the footage would "once again bring disgrace upon the enemies and detractors of the Iranian people."
The Hindustan Times report said an undated video released by Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency showed Mojtaba Khamenei appearing to be in good health after Israeli media reports claimed he was in an “extremely critical condition” and had been taken to a hospital.
The Hindustan Times account also said Channel 14, citing sources inside Iran, and The Jerusalem Post, citing IranWire and sources close to Pezeshkian’s administration, reported that concerns about Khamenei’s health were circulating among Iran’s leadership.
War, Rial, and Livelihoods
State media accounts of the late-July meeting said Pezeshkian and Khamenei exchanged views in detail on the country’s issues and problems, particularly meeting the people’s livelihood needs.
“reviewed the war, national resources, the rial, foreign-currency reserves, energy and economic ties”
The Kurdistan24 report said the two leaders reviewed the war, national resources, the rial, foreign-currency reserves, energy and economic ties with other countries, as Pezeshkian entered the third year of his presidency.
Kurdistan24 said the discussions focused on measures to safeguard livelihoods and essential needs of Iran’s population during the crisis, while also addressing how national resources should be managed and allocated with attention to the Iranian rial, foreign-currency reserves and the energy sector.
In parallel, the WANA News Agency said the meeting covered economic, security and military issues and included discussion of ways to address people’s livelihood needs and manage financial, foreign currency and energy resources, as well as strengthening economic cooperation with foreign partners.
