Dubai: In a rare break from nearly four decades of tradition, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei did not attend the annual February 8 meeting with air force commanders this year — a ceremony he has personally led since becoming Supreme Leader in 1989, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The absence comes amid heightened tensions with the United States and an ongoing military buildup in the Gulf, drawing attention because the event has historically served as a symbolic display of loyalty between Iran’s clerical leadership and its military.
According to Iranian media reports, the meeting with air force and air defence commanders was instead presided over by the Chief of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi.