Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has met with a senior military commander – the second in-person meeting Khamenei has had within the last few days, according to Iranian state media.
Khamenei met with Maj. Gen. Abdollahi, the commander of military headquarters, according to the semi-official Fars news agency, and received a report “on the readiness of Iran’s armed forces.”
No photographs or video of the meeting were published. No images of Khamenei have been published by Iranian media since he was inaugurated in March after US-Israeli strikes killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leading to speculation about his health and whereabouts.
Abdollahi said that Iranian forces were in a state of high readiness, with “the necessary equipment and weapons to counter hostile actions by the American-Zionist enemies.”
“In the event of any strategic mistake, aggression, or attack by them, they will respond swiftly, intensely, and powerfully,” Abdollahi was quoted as saying.
Khamenei said that Iran had “thwarted the enemies from achieving their evil goals” and issued new instructions to powerfully confront the enemies, according to the Fars account.
Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said on Thursday he had held a two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Khamenei, marking the first reported in-person meeting between a top Iranian official and the country’s new Supreme Leader.