Al-Jareeda Exclusive: Tehran Rejects Al-Zaidi Meeting with Mojtaba; Tel Aviv Leans Toward Supreme Leader's Exit from Iran

As the US-Iran confrontation approaches the threshold of a broader war amid ongoing military escalation, a source in Iran’s Supreme National Security Council told Al-Jarida that Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Idi will carry an oral message from US President Donald Trump to Iranian leadership during his anticipated visit to Tehran. The message was delivered during his visit to Washington, and the source added that his stopover in Doha yesterday, on his way back from the US capital, aimed to coordinate the message’s content with the Qatari side and explore the possibility of transforming it into an Iraqi initiative that aligns with Qatari and Pakistani mediation efforts.

According to the source, al-Idi’s visit to Tehran is scheduled for next Thursday, although Baghdad has expressed readiness to advance the date. At the same time, the Iraqi side expressed the prime minister’s desire to leverage the unique relationship between the two countries to become the first foreign official to meet Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained out of the public eye since the outbreak of war against Iran last February.

The source ruled out any meeting between Mojtaba Khamenei and al-Idi, confirming that the Iraqi side had been informed of this, and attributed the reason to Iranian security concerns about the new Supreme Leader’s hiding place being exposed, given the formal procedures required for any meeting with a foreign prime minister.

Meanwhile, Israeli and regional media quoted an Israeli security source as saying that Mojtaba Khamenei is not in Iran, and that messages attributed to him are being drafted by IRGC commander Ahmad Vahidi.

The Iranian source told Al-Jarida that Tehran has set two main conditions for returning to negotiations or de-escalation: the first is halting military operations and providing guarantees that they will not be repeated; the second is Washington’s acceptance of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz.

He added that prevailing assessments within the Iranian side indicate that escalation may continue until the US midterm congressional elections scheduled for November next year.

According to the same source, former Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif fostered an atmosphere encouraging Tehran to persist until the election date, speaking of communications he received from several US Democratic politicians who indicated, according to his account, that Trump’s defeat in the elections could push Congress to act to stop the war.

Meanwhile, the alliance between President Masoud Pezeshkian and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf remains committed to the possibility of reaching an understanding with Washington, a position strengthened after Khamenei’s message urging an end to criticizing officials. This was practically translated by instructing media outlets aligned with the hardline conservative current to halt their campaigns against Pezeshkian and Qalibaf, under threat of measures that could include revoking their operating licenses.