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Iranian President Meets Supreme Leader
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he held a nearly two-and-a-half-hour meeting with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, describing the encounter as humble and intimate. The meeting comes amid ongoing closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iranian forces following U.S.-Israeli strikes that began February 28.
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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he recently met with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a meeting that lasted nearly two and a half hours. Pezeshkian praised the Supreme Leader’s “humble and deeply intimate” manner, saying it created an atmosphere of trust, calm, empathy and direct dialogue.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since his appointment in early March after his father was killed in the February 28 U.S.-Israeli attack. The encounter was reported by Iranian state media as a medical update on the Supreme Leader, who was reportedly wounded in that strike.
Iranian forces responded to the attacks by closing the Strait of Hormuz to all exports except its own, disrupting roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas supply. The waterway remains blocked, prompting multinational efforts to restore navigation. French officials said sanctions on Iran will stay in place until the strait reopens.
A French aircraft carrier is sailing toward the area for a possible defensive mission once the conflict ends. European governments are also preparing financial support for airlines facing jet-fuel shortages and price spikes caused by the disruption.
Shell reported a 19 percent rise in first-quarter net profit to $5.69 billion, attributing the gain to higher oil and gas prices triggered by the Middle East conflict. ” Emirates Group posted a 3 percent increase in annual profits to $5.7 billion despite flight groundings and repeated targeting of Dubai airport.
The carrier’s chairman and CEO noted that cargo operations had ramped up to move essential goods even as passenger capacity stayed below pre-disruption levels. Swiss authorities warned that the war could create uncertainty over winter gas supplies and, in an extreme scenario, affect the stability of Swiss and European electricity networks.
