Who’s Calling Shots In Iran As Mojtaba Remains Out Of Sight?

8th April 2026 at 6:32 PM

1 minute read

Tehran : Iran Supreme Leader’s representative in India asserted that Tehran was the “winner” of the war and scotched speculation over the health of Mojtaba Khamenei, saying he was supervising everything. The remarks come on a day the US and Iran reached a two-week ceasefire deal after a month of fighting, which has left over 2,000 dead. While announcing the truce, Trump said he received a 10-point proposal from Iran for an end to the war.

A report in Axios claimed it was Mojtaba, who has remained out of public view since being named the Supreme Leader after the death of his father in US-Israeli strikes, who nudged his negotiators to move towards a deal. Dr Ilahi, however, asserted that Mojtaba was healthy. We have a council under the leadership of the new Supreme Leader, who is making decisions. Mojtaba is healthy and supervising everything, he said.

He also declared Iran as the “winner” of the month-long war, which saw much of its senior leadership being wiped out in the missile barrage by the US and Israel. However, despite being pounded daily, Iran did not collapse and kept up a sustained region-wide retaliation. “The winner of this war is Iran because they (the US) accepted the conditions submitted by us. He (President Trump) is the one who surrendered,” Dr Ilahi said.

A key point in Iran’s 10-point proposal was its control over Hormuz. It sought a provision allowing Iran to levy a transit fee on ships passing through the strait. In fact, as per some reports, Iran is already charging a $2 million toll for the safe passage of ships. Dr Ilahi said it was important for Tehran to maintain control over the key waterway. “We want to have a very good relationship and friendship with all countries. We don’t want to change anything.

During the conflict, Iran allowed oil tankers of five “friendly” countries – India, Iraq, China, Russia, and Pakistan – to transit Hormuz. Shedding light on Pakistan’s role as mediator between the US and Iran, Dr Ilahi underlined that Tehran did not seek any particular country’s help.