The source affiliated with Arab affairs desk reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a secret phone call with Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei five days before the ceasefire — a call intercepted by the US, which then learned Khamenei's status. The channel says the call explains the sudden halt in US statements about Khamenei and the subsequent visit of Iran's foreign minister Araghchi to Moscow. The report is unverified and sourced to a single source.
The source describing itself as an Arab affairs desk ('Abu Saleh, the Arab Desk') has published an unverified account claiming that Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke directly with Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei by phone five days before the ceasefire that ended the recent 40-day conflict. According to the post, the call was intercepted by the United States, which thereby learned that Khamenei had been severely injured and his status was uncertain until that point. The report asserts that the US had previously been issuing regular statements about Khamenei's condition, but those statements ceased abruptly five days before the ceasefire — consistent, the channel claims, with the timing of the intercepted call. A monitored channel claims that the phone call explains why Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Moscow immediately afterward, forming what the channel describes as a 'matching' picture.
The purported conversation between Putin and Khamenei — if real — would represent a direct foreign intervention in the command-and-control chain of Iran's leadership at a critical moment during hostilities. The claim that US intelligence intercepted the call would also mean Washington had real-time insight into Khamenei's situation independent of open channels. However, the entire account rests on a desk-reviewed report with no corroboration from Russian, Iranian, or American officials. The Zioneer has previously reported on the loss of contact with Khamenei as cited by Iran International (June 8), and on US statements that later shifted tone (June 11), but neither outlet has reported Putin's involvement or a call interception.
The report is classified as Developing — credible in its general context of known uncertainties about Khamenei's fate — but unverified in its specific details. The Zioneer will follow up if state-level confirmation or corroborating sources emerge.
- DevelopingIran International: contact cut with Supreme Leader Khamenei since last night, Tehran's missile attack on Israel reportedly launched without his coordination
- DevelopingIranian source alleges Trump held secret conference call with Arab leaders on normalization-for-peace deal
- DevelopingTrump says he knows Mojtaba Khamenei's whereabouts, praises his 'logic and courage'
- DevelopingRussia partially suspends Putin security protocols after Khamenei killing, FT reports
Source and signal
A single-sourced dispatch is never rated Confirmed or Strong. Its Signal strengthens only when a second, independent source corroborates it.
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