Iran's surviving leaders: Who can make a US peace deal
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- Trump teased Monday he's moving closer to a deal with Iran to end the war, with U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner speaking to a senior Iranian official — an Israeli source identified that official as parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, though no direct contact with Ghalibaf has been confirmed.
- Ghalibaf, a former IRGC general and former mayor of Tehran, is now the most senior civilian official in Iran's decision-making circle and a close associate of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei; he denied any negotiations took place and called U.S. claims "fake news" aimed at manipulating oil markets.
- Mojtaba Khamenei officially succeeded his father Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader after Israel killed him early in the war, but his physical condition, whereabouts, and actual role remain unknown — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Mojtaba was "wounded and likely disfigured" in the strike that killed his father, and the CIA and Mossad are monitoring for any movement.
- Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Foreign Minister since 2024, led two rounds of nuclear talks with Witkoff and Kushner before the war and was the primary text-message channel between Washington and Tehran, but U.S. officials told Axios he is no longer viewed as a key decision-maker under the current regime hierarchy.
- Israel assassinated both Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and de facto civilian leader Ali Larijani at the war's outset and continues to target Iranian leaders including Mojtaba, while Masoud Pezeshkian — Iran's president since 2024 and the moderate reformist faction's leader — was added to the interim Leadership Council after Khamenei's death but is not believed to be at the center of war-planning or diplomacy.
Why it matters: Israel's killing of Supreme Leader Khamenei and de facto civilian leader Larijani has created a leadership vacuum in Iran that makes it unclear who is actually empowered to negotiate an end to the war. The U.S. official who previously led diplomacy (Araghchi) is no longer seen as a decision-maker, and the figure mediators are now approaching (Ghalibaf) has publicly denied any contact, calling the claims "fake news" — leaving Trump's envoys without a confirmed negotiating partner at exactly the moment a deal appears closest.
