ژورنال سایت خبری سیاسی ژورنال
PDF-English Journal-3 July 2025-No15
A burning question these days is: why is Khamenei still in hiding? Why has he not appeared in public?
Even if security concerns are a factor, that’s hardly the main reason. Speaking from a bunker poses no security risk. He’s the commander-in-chief and the regime’s supreme authority. Until recently, even trivial decisions required his approval. So why does he remain silent on issues like ceasefire, negotiations, uranium enrichment, Israel, Trump, and more?
In my view, the reason is political. It stems from his changed status at the apex of the regime. He has nothing left to say. Yet his presence is more vital than ever—for a regime reeling from severe blows by the “Zionist enemy,” with top commanders killed, nuclear facilities damaged, defensive and offensive weaknesses exposed, Israeli intelligence embedded in its deepest layers, a powerless administration, failed diplomacy, and Europe more united with the US than ever. Even before the war, its proxy forces were paralysed, it had lost control over its domestic stronghold of hijab enforcement, and its economy was in shambles. In such times, the regime desperately needs a unifying authority figure to stabilise its ranks and restore confidence. Khamenei has long held that role.
So security is not the answer. The issue is profoundly political.
The truth is all the policies for which Khamenei is chiefly responsible have failed. He cannot defend the past, nor can he boast about the future. He cannot continue the war, nor will he be the one to drink the poisoned chalice of surrender—even if that’s what might ultimately be required. Hence, he—or those around him—have deemed it best for him to remain in hiding.
In political terms, Khamenei is a dead man walking—a burden on the regime. They can neither eliminate him nor sustain him.
This is a critical factor that, along with the regime’s broader defeats, is accelerating its crisis. There is no horizon ahead. The injection of nationalism into state propaganda and empty claims of unity only deepen the regime’s identity crisis.
English journal about the current situation in Iran
Editor-in-Chief: Keyvan Javid
Contact: 00447388575020
E-mail: keyvan.javid1@gmail.com
Editor: Patty Debonitas
