Iran's top decision-maker is so out of reach that US officials say even his own government struggles to get messages through, reports CBS News. Not even the highest-ranking members of government know the precise location of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, according to the outlet, which speaks to US officials familiar with intelligence on Iran. Communication with him requires a "labyrinth of couriers," which is one reason for the delays in peace negotiations.
"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 CBS. Khamenei has not appeared publicly since before the war, and he was reportedly injured in the initial wave of strikes that killed his father and other top leaders.
The story provides context to the current state of peace talks—by all accounts, negotiators have made progress on the broad strokes of a deal to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but the final details may take days to hammer out. "It is correct to say that we have reached a conclusion on a large portion of the issues under discussion," said Foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai Baqai on Monday, reports the BBC. "But to say that this means the signing of an agreement is imminent—no one can make such a claim."
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