Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would have to approve any final deal with the U.S. through secret courier networks while remaining in hiding as a «designated target,» counterterrorism experts said Tuesday.

The unprecedented arrangement, they claimed, means Washington is negotiating a high-stakes accord with an entirely invisible counterparty, with a potential memorandum signed by a regime leader and a «designated target» who can never publicly show his face.

«Khamenei is a designated target, and every confirmed sighting is a coordinate,» Dr. Omar Mohammed told Fox News Digital.

«The courier system used for messaging is not transitional. It is the operating system of his rule.

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER RUNS ‘STATE WITHIN A STATE’ THROUGH SECRET 4,000-PERSON NETWORK, REPORT SAYS

«Any deal the United States signs will have to be designed for a permanently invisible counterparty whose enforcement depends on his continued survival. That is not arms control as it has been conventionally understood. It is a memorandum signed under American military pressure, with a regime whose leader cannot show his face.»

Mohammed’s remarks came after Secretary of State Marco Rubio explained to reporters in India why the deal was suffering delays.

«It’s just the response,» Rubio said. «I mean, when you get down on some of these things, you’ve got to hear back, and it takes the Iranians — takes them a little while longer to get back,» he explained.

«That is Secretary Rubio confirming the courier latency on the record,» said Dr. Omar Mohammed, director of the Antisemitism Research Initiative Program on Extremism at George Washington University. «Rubio is describing a structural feature of negotiating with a supreme leader no one can locate.

IRAN’S KHAMENEI STAYS AWAY FROM TALKS AS JD VANCE SAYS DYNAMIC MAKES DIPLOMACY ‘MUCH MORE COMPLICATED’

President Donald Trump monitors U.S. military operations in Iran following an Israeli strike in Tehran on Feb. 28, 2026. (White House)

«Mojtaba is in hiding, messages are moving by courier, and responses are arriving days late.

«Rubio just confirmed the symptom, and the administration is being honest about the problem. The question is whether the framework can be designed to survive it,» Mohammed claimed.

Khamenei has spent nearly three months in hiding as tensions with the U.S. escalate.

He went underground as soon as a strike on Feb. 28 killed his father, amid reports that he was gravely injured.

He was struck in Operation Epic Fury — «wounded and likely disfigured,» according to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. His wife and son were killed in the same strike.

«Officials at the highest levels of the Iranian government do not know where he is,» Mohammed said, meaning every piece of information he receives is «dated, and his responses come with significant latency.»

The remarks come as Iran and the United States continue talks aimed at reaching a deal to end the war that began Feb. 28.

IRAN’S SUPREME LEADER MOJTABA KHAMENEI ‘MISFUNCTIONING,’ NOT CONTROLLING REGIME: SOURCES

Secretary of State Marco Rubio faced tough questions Sunday at a New Delhi, India, news conference about the Trump administration’s pressing India on trade, tariffs, visa and immigration reform. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AFP)

«If there’s going to be a deal, we’re going to have to work through that. But this is, you know, it’s either going to be a good deal or there isn’t going to be one,» Rubio said Tuesday.

A senior administration official said the U.S. is prepared to ease sanctions if Iran makes major concessions on uranium enrichment. Frozen Iranian assets have also emerged as a key hurdle.

Iran said Monday that no agreement with the United States was imminent, despite progress toward a framework in talks.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the focus of talks remained ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and that a possible memorandum of understanding did not include specific details on managing the Strait of Hormuz.

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«The real question for Washington is not how fast the framework can be signed,» Mohammed added.

«It is also what enforcement looks like when the counterparty’s signature comes through a courier.»

La crisis política y social en Bolivia sumó un nuevo capítulo tras la muerte de un manifestante durante un operativo de desbloqueo de rutas en las afueras de La Paz, en medio de las protestas que desde hace casi un mes exigen la renuncia del presidente Rodrigo Paz.

El gobierno boliviano confirmó el fallecimiento de Víctor C. Q., un joven de 24 años que recibió un impacto de bala el sábado pasado en la localidad de Vilaque Copata, sobre la ruta entre El Alto y Oruro.

Según un certificado forense citado por medios locales, la víctima murió por un disparo de arma de fuego durante los enfrentamientos registrados en el marco del operativo denominado “Corredor Humanitario”, desplegado para liberar rutas bloqueadas y permitir el ingreso de alimentos, combustible y medicamentos hacia La Paz y El Alto.

La administración de Paz expresó sus condolencias a la familia y anunció una investigación para determinar responsabilidades. El vocero presidencial José Luis Gálvez insistió en que los efectivos policiales actuaron sin portar armas letales y únicamente utilizaron gases lacrimógenos como elemento disuasivo.

En la misma línea, el comandante general de la Policía, Mirko Sokol, afirmó que los primeros indicios apuntan a que el disparo habría sido efectuado “desde el lado contrario” al que ocupaban las fuerzas de seguridad. Según explicó, la hipótesis surge a partir del análisis preliminar del orificio de ingreso y salida del proyectil.

“El uso de armas letales no está permitido en operativos de mantenimiento del orden público”, aseguró Sokol, quien remarcó que existe un control estricto sobre el armamento antes de cada despliegue policial.

La Fiscalía Departamental de La Paz informó este martes que un equipo multidisciplinario logró ingresar finalmente a Vilaque Copata para realizar peritajes y recolectar pruebas. El fiscal departamental Luis Carlos Torrez señaló que la causa es investigada por el delito de homicidio contra autor o autores.

El acceso de los investigadores había permanecido bloqueado durante dos días debido a las barricadas instaladas por sectores movilizados. Tras negociaciones con los manifestantes, fiscales y especialistas del Instituto de Investigaciones Forenses pudieron inspeccionar la zona donde ocurrió el hecho.

La muerte del joven ocurre en un contexto de creciente tensión social en Bolivia. Las protestas, impulsadas inicialmente por sindicatos y organizaciones sociales que reclaman mejoras salariales, abastecimiento estable de combustible y medidas para enfrentar la crisis económica, se radicalizaron en las últimas semanas.

Los bloqueos mantienen prácticamente sitiada a La Paz desde hace cuatro semanas y provocaron escasez de productos básicos, medicamentos y combustibles. La inflación interanual alcanzó el 14 por ciento en abril, agravando el malestar social.

El lunes, miles de mineros, campesinos y obreros volvieron a marchar hacia el centro paceño desde la ciudad de El Alto al grito de “¿Qué queremos? ¡Que renuncie! ¿Cuándo? ¡Ahora!”. Los enfrentamientos estallaron cuando grupos de manifestantes intentaron romper el cordón policial cerca del Congreso.

En un intento por desactivar la crisis, el presidente Paz anunció una reducción del 50 por ciento de su salario mensual, actualmente estimado en unos 24.000 bolivianos —equivalentes a cerca de 3.500 dólares—. Sin embargo, el gesto no logró frenar las movilizaciones.

La situación también generó preocupación internacional. El presidente de Brasil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, mantuvo una conversación telefónica con Paz y expresó su “solidaridad con el gobierno y el pueblo boliviano”, además de pedir diálogo entre las partes y anunciar ayuda humanitaria para el país. Estados Unidos y Argentina también ofrecieron asistencia en las últimas semanas ante el agravamiento de la escasez.

Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner blasted Jeff Bezos for opposing higher taxes on billionaires, rejecting the Amazon founder’s argument that raising taxes on the wealthy would hurt economic growth amid a broader political fight over wealth inequality and taxation ahead of the 2026 elections.

During a Monday appearance on MS NOW alongside Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Platner argued Bezos’ opposition to higher taxes reflected the interests of billionaires seeking to preserve their wealth, rather than a serious economic concern about the impact of higher tax rates.

«I think it’s abject nonsense,» Platner said Monday. «I think that’s what somebody says when they don’t want to see their taxes go up.»

PLATNER IN THE HOT SEAT AS MAINE VOTERS RIP HIS ‘HORRIBLE’ COMMENTS AMID REDDIT SCANDAL

Platner went on to argue that directing more tax revenue from the wealthy into public programs would improve the lives of working Americans and strengthen society overall.

«There is absolutely no question if we target the wealth where it has been hoarded and we pull it back into our system and put it into social programs like health care, child care and paying teachers what they are worth, we will absolutely improve the lives of working Americans and, quite frankly, improve our society as a whole,» Platner said.

He went on to accuse Bezos of promoting arguments designed to protect the wealthy from higher taxes.

«I think what he [Bezos] is pitching is propaganda,» Platner said. «It’s meant to protect himself and protect his crony friends. And we’re going to come after them for it.»

MAINE PROGRESSIVE SAYS HE WON’T BACK SCHUMER EVEN AFTER DEMOCRATS UNITE BEHIND COLLINS CHALLENGER

Platner was responding to comments Bezos made during a CNBC interview last week, where the Amazon founder argued that raising taxes on the ultrawealthy would not solve systemic income inequality. Instead, Bezos suggested eliminating federal income taxes for lower-income Americans while warning that politicians often oversimplify economic problems by targeting wealthy individuals.

«If people want me to pay more billions, right, then let’s have that debate, but don’t pretend you know that that’s going to solve the problem,» Bezos said. «You could double the taxes I pay and it’s not going to help that teacher in Queens. I promise you.»

The world’s fourth-richest person also accused politicians of using an «age-old technique» of «picking a villain and pointing fingers,» arguing that government overspending — not insufficient tax revenue — is the root cause of the nation’s fiscal challenges.

MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE CITES COMBAT TRAUMA WHEN CONFRONTED ON ‘TERRIBLE’ POSTS ABOUT SEXUAL ASSAULT

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., has campaigned with Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner as the Democrat pushes a progressive platform focused on taxing billionaires and lowering costs for working Americans. (Sarah Rice/Getty Images)

The exchange underscores a growing divide between progressive Democrats pushing for higher taxes on corporations and billionaires to fund social programs and reduce income inequality, and business leaders and conservatives who argue such policies would discourage investment, slow economic growth and fail to address underlying government spending issues.

Tax policy is expected to remain a central issue heading into the 2026 midterm elections as lawmakers continue to debate the future of Trump-era tax cuts, the national debt and proposals targeting high earners and large corporations.

Platner has leaned heavily on progressive economic policy in his Senate campaign, centering his platform on affordability issues such as housing, healthcare and wages.

He has also aligned himself closely with Sanders, whose political brand has long focused on criticizing the «billionaire class» and advocating for higher taxes on the wealthy.

In April, Platner unveiled a tax proposal that would impose a 5% tax on wealth exceeding $1 billion while exempting working- and middle-class Americans from paying federal income taxes, according to Maine Public Radio. The Democrat is challenging longtime incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in one of the cycle’s closely watched Senate races.

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A side-by-side photo of Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. (Getty Images)

Platner’s message mirrors a broader push from progressive candidates nationwide, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Seattle mayoral candidate Katie Wilson, who have campaigned on raising taxes on wealthy Americans and expanding affordability-focused policies.

The exchange underscores how fights over wealth, taxation and affordability are becoming defining issues in the 2026 election cycle, particularly in competitive races where Democrats are leaning into populist economic messaging.