Mojtaba Khamenei

The letter is Washington’s highest-level outreach to Tehran in months, according to Axios, and comes as Trump considers resuming strikes after the US midterms.

State media said Khamenei had stressed the importance of pursuing Iran's interests and maintaining its conditions for ending the war.

Khamenei has not been seen in public since late February, when he reportedly went into hiding after joint US-Israel strikes killed his father, former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"When you have an elderly and veteran leader, there is certainly an advantage in that," said Golan. "Of course, he was already 86 years old."

Speaking on Monday after a campaign trip in Alaska, Vance said any agreement would require Iran to reduce its nuclear enrichment capacity, rather than offer assurances of future nuclear drawdowns.

Ayatollah Mohsen Heidari Alekasir also denied the claim that Iran’s former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, had recommended his son to serve as his successor.

"The implementation of the policies is in the hands of the administration and the government, but the consultations and the directions come from there [Khamenei]," Pezeshkian said. 

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Khamenei has not been seen since being appointed in March after the death of his father, and while written statements and messages have been issued in his name, many have doubts.

“We must, in accordance with the overwhelming majority of the people, end the war with honor so that we can rebuild the country, so that we can compensate for the damage done,” Hassan Rouhani said.