{"id":13815,"date":"2026-04-25T12:26:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=13815"},"modified":"2026-04-25T12:26:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T12:26:43","slug":"130514317-cms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/?p=13815","title":{"rendered":"Handwritten letters, human chain: How Mojtaba Khamenei controls Iran from the shadows &#8211; The Times of India"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-articlebody=\"1\"><video-embed value=\"false\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"ihgno clearfix  \">\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-130514374,imgsize-898862,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/pic-2026-04-25t172919624.jpg\" alt=\"Handwritten letters, human chain: How Mojtaba Khamenei controls Iran from the shadows\" title=\".\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/mojtaba-khamenei\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\">Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a> is commanding the country through a secret \u201chuman chain\u201d of handwritten letters to avoid detection by the US and Israel, according to a report by The New York Times.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"4\"\/>The report said messages meant for the leader are \u201chandwritten, sealed in envelopes and passed on via a human chain\u201d of trusted couriers. These couriers travel on highways and rural back roads using motorcycles and cars to reach his \u201chide-out,\u201d with replies sent back through the same secure route.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"6\"\/>This unusual system comes as security protocols around Mojtaba have reached unprecedented levels. Senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard and high-ranking officials are avoiding visiting him, fearing Israel could \u201ctrace his location\u201d and carry out an assassination.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"10\"\/>Mojtaba has remained largely absent from public view since taking over after the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in a joint US-Israel strike on February 28. No video or audio recordings of the new leader have been released, and his directives are issued via social media or read on state television.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"12\"\/>The report noted he is acting \u201cconsciously as he does not want to appear vulnerable or sound weak in his first public address.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>An Iranian official said the leader was \u201cgravely\u201d injured in the strikes but remains \u201cmentally sharp and engaged.\u201d The attack reportedly \u201cdamaged his face\u201d and left him requiring \u201cplastic surgery.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>Medical details suggest extensive injuries. One leg has undergone three operations and is \u201cawaiting a prosthetic leg,\u201d while an injured hand is \u201cregaining function gradually.\u201d Injuries to his \u201cface and lips\u201d have also made it \u201cdifficult for him to speak.\u201d<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"20\"\/>Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a trained heart surgeon, and the country\u2019s health minister have both been directly \u201cinvolved in his care.\u201d The leader is reportedly mostly surrounded by doctors and healthcare professionals at an undisclosed location.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/>The developments come during an \u201cuneasy ceasefire\u201d between the US and Iran after a period of intense fighting in the Middle East. Despite the pause, a \u201cdeadlock over the Strait of Hormuz\u201d continues.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/world\/middle-east\/handwritten-letters-human-chain-how-mojtaba-khamenei-controls-iran-from-the-shadows\/articleshow\/130514317.cms\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is commanding the country through a secret \u201chuman chain\u201d of&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13816,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[32797,32796,10536,10369,14308,20076,11784,32798,32795],"class_list":["post-13815","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-handwritten-letters-courier","tag-human-chain-communication","tag-iran-revolutionary-guard","tag-iran-supreme-leader","tag-iranian-president-masoud-pezeshkian","tag-middle-east-ceasefire","tag-mojtaba-khamenei","tag-strait-of-hormuz-deadlock","tag-us-israel-secret-operations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13815","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13815"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13815\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13816"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13815"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13815"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/d.sheep-mine.ts.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13815"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}