Rubio says Iran's new leader alive, increasingly engaging

Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday that Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive and increasingly active, even though the 56-year-old has not appeared in public since being wounded in U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father and triggered a three-month war.

The disclosure comes as diplomatic efforts to end the three-month U.S.-Israeli war against Iran have stalled, with the conflict having triggered a global energy crisis affecting fuel markets worldwide.

Rubio said Khamenei, 56, has not made a public appearance since taking office following the death of his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed when coordinated U.S.-Israeli strikes hit Iran on Feb. 28 — the war's opening day. Mojtaba was wounded in those same strikes but survived. "I think there are indications out there that he is increasingly engaging at some level," Rubio said, according to The Korea Times's account of the Senate hearing.

The three-month conflict has triggered a global energy crisis. Iran's moves to restrict the Strait of Hormuz have disrupted international shipping, and diplomatic talks aimed at ending the war have stalled with no resolution in sight.

Rubio outlined two conditions Iran must satisfy before the U.S. would consider sanctions relief. The first involves the waterway. "They have to announce very clearly 'The straits are now open, we're not charging a toll,'" he said. "We will help remove the mines that they put in there, and they will not fire on ships."

The second condition addresses Iran's nuclear program. "They have to agree on negotiating severe and long-term limitations and/or cancellation of enrichment activity," Rubio said. He explained the logic directly: "Iran is being sanctioned because they've highly enriched uranium, Iran is being sanctioned because of their nuclear activities, if they agree to give up those things, there will be sanctions relief."

Despite the diplomatic impasse, Rubio expressed measured optimism about the prospects of a deal. "There is the prospect before us, which could happen today, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week," he said.

The war, which began Feb. 28, has produced no ceasefire agreement in three months, and the global energy crisis it set off shows no signs of resolution as diplomatic talks remain deadlocked.