Amid rising US military presence in the Gulf, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has reportedly skips the annual February meeting with air force commanders, breaking his 37-year-old tradition.
According to Iran International, Khamenei has attended annual meeting every year since assuming leadership in 1989, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The annual meeting commemorates February 8, 1979, when a group of air force officers pledged loyalty to Ruhollah Khomeini in a move to overthrow the Pahlavi dynasty. Khomeini was the founder of the Islamic Republic and the predecessor of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as Supreme Leader.
Over the following four decades, the date evolved into a symbolic occasion, marked by annual meetings between air force personnel and commanders and Iran’s clerical leadership each year. As per the report this year, the chief of staff of the armed forces, Abdolrahim Mousavi attended the army force commanders on Sunday instead of Khamenei.
Khamenei’s absence comes amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington, as the United States increases its military presence in the region and concerns grow over the possibility of a US strike against the Islamic Republic. Khamenei’s decision to stay away is being interpreted as an effort to avoid potential security threats or as a result of his focus on sensitive national security matters.
Tehran has repeatedly cautioned that any US attack on Iran would trigger a wider conflict across the Middle East, warning that a US-initiated war would spread throughout the region. The remarks referenced the 12-day Iran–Israel conflict in mid-June 2025.
Despite the ceasefire, tensions between Iran and the United States persist. Washington continues to push for negotiations that include Iran’s missile programme, while Tehran insists that talks be limited to its nuclear activities. This deadlock has resulted in reciprocal threats of airstrikes, with disagreements over the scope of negotiations fueling uncertainty and keeping open the possibility that US President Donald Trump could follow through on threats to strike Iran.
Amid rising tensions with Iran, the United States deployed its aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln to the Arabian Sea in late January. Reports also indicate that around a dozen F-15 fighter jets, an MQ-9 Reaper combat drone, and several A-10C Thunderbolt II ground-attack aircraft were stationed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
