Eyes on Iran’s ‘fractured’ leadership as negotiations stall

Published April 22, 2026 2:25pm ET | Updated April 22, 2026 2:26pm ET



It’s not entirely clear who in Iran is the final decision maker when it comes to making a deal with the United States to formally end the war and move toward a day-after plan.

Iran’s Assembly of Experts selected Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, as the Supreme Leader of the country in early March after the elder Khamenei was killed in the opening strikes of the war. But the younger Khamenei has not been seen publicly since he was appointed more than a month ago, though he was reportedly injured in the strikes that killed his father.

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