Senior Iranian officials are awaiting the green light from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to begin negotiations with the Trump administration, a source familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post.
According to the source, the Iranians have expressed interest in holding talks with the Trump administration, despite their public statements to the contrary, but the final decision rests solely with Khamenei.
It remains unclear whether Khamenei's failure to give the go-ahead is due to his opposition to such dialogue or if it is also due to difficulties in communicating with him, the source added.
Various reports indicate that Khamenei is staying in a secret location, an underground bunker, which has made it challenging for officials to reach him.
Journalist Barak Ravid reported several days ago that, during the war, Khamenei blocked talks between Iran’s foreign minister and Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, as well as Vice President J.D. Vance.
Ravid wrote that this ultimately led President Trump to decide to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities.