Iran-US peace deal soon but where is Mojtaba Khamenei? US officials claim he's in 'secret bunker', 'communicates via messengers'

Iran and United States are at the verge of signing a peace deal to end the war. However, the uncertainty around Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has continued as he has not been seen in public since taking over as the top cleric after his father and former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei's death. A new report citing US intelligence on Monday (May 25) stated that Mojtaba Khamenei is hiding in a secret location and communicates via an elaborate network of messengers. Ali Khamenei was killed on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli war with Iran. The elaborate arrangement is seen as a precautionary measures to prevent Israel from assassinating him. The US officials hinted that the delay in the deal is because messages are passed on to Mojtaba via a network of people and are usually dated by the time it reaches him.

CBS report has quoted US officials citing US intelligence and said that Iranian leaders including Mojtaba are spending weeks in bunkers and trying to avoid communicating with each other. "Watching them try to figure out how to talk to each other is almost like watching a sitcom. They are completely exasperated,” one official said. “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.’ Every piece of information he receives is dated and there’s a lot of latency to his responses,” one official tells the network. The report claimed that even officials at the highest levels of the Iranian government don't know where Mojtaba is and have no way to contact him directly. Instead, messages are passed through a network of couriers created to obscure the supreme leader's location.

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What we know about Iran-US deal?

Iran and United States have hinted that a deal to end the war will be finalised soon. US President Donald Trump held a lengthy phone call with Gulf leaders and Pakistan Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and hinted that the peace deal to end Iran war has been “largely negotiated.” He also said that both sides have agreed to reopen the Strait of Homuz. Iranian officials were also quoted in several reports saying the the Hormuz traffic will return to pre-war levels within 30 days of signing a deal with the United States. The deal has not yet been finalised but Pakistan, that is acting as a mediator has expressed hopes to host the two sides for a fresh round of talks. Trump also warned that the negotiations are proceeding in an “orderly and constructive manner” and US representatives have been advised to “not to rush into a deal." The conflict erupted after the United States and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and the Islamic republic responded with missile and drone attacks across the region. The United States and Iran have observed a ceasefire since April 8 while mediators push for a negotiated settlement, although the Strait of Hormuz has remained largely blocked.