Iran's president admits for first time that communication with new supreme leader is 'very difficult'

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly acknowledged for the first time that he is struggling to communicate with the country's current supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was wounded in early US and Israeli airstrikes during the war.

Pezeshkian made the admission Wednesday during a nationally televised address marking the second anniversary of his inauguration, in which he also recalled the death of then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US and Israeli airstrikes at the start of the war.

"The enemies sought to bring down the state through missile strikes, but we stopped them," he said. "Driven to desperation, they launched a barbaric attack that led to the supreme leader's martyrdom."

He said that contrary to the enemies' intentions, Iran had held firm and a new supreme leader had been chosen.

Pezeshkian said communication with the new supreme leader was "very difficult at present," but added that "the very existence of the new leader is a great source of strength that allows us to continue on this path."

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly injured in the Feb. 28 US and Israeli airstrikes that killed his father, has not appeared in public since assuming the role of supreme leader, citing security concerns.

He was also absent from his father's funeral, held in July.