US intel: Iran’s unseen supreme leader helps steer war strategy
U.S. intelligence assesses that Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is playing a key, though largely unseen, role in shaping war strategy and the negotiating approach with the United States, while day-to-day decisions are led by IRGC officials and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf amid a fractured regime. Iran has withstood most U.S. strikes and a ceasefire gives it time to regroup, but Washington remains focused on a negotiated end, even as it remains unclear who actually has the authority to finalize one.