U.S. intelligence officials tell U.S. and partner authorities that Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is staying in an undisclosed location. According to the reports, top officials within Iran’s government do not know where he is and cannot contact him directly. Instead, they rely on a network of couriers to communicate with him, using physical delivery rather than direct lines of communication.
The accounts also say Khamenei’s location remains unknown even to senior Iranian officials, suggesting a highly compartmentalized system for information and access. One outlet further frames the reported method as similar to tactics used by Osama bin Laden when he evaded detection for years, though this comparison is attributed to outside experts rather than presented as a confirmed detail of the U.S. assessment.
Overall, both sources focus on the same core points: Khamenei is believed to be concealed, his location is secret, and communication—when it occurs—appears to be handled through couriers rather than direct contact channels. The reporting does not provide additional corroborating details about his whereabouts or the specific timeline of the concealment.
