A Rare Glimpse at Iran’s Wartime Leadership: Supreme Leader and Rouhani Captured in Prayer on Warship Deck

According to Saed News,
a recently resurfaced set of rare photographs has captured a powerful moment in Iran’s political and military history: then-President Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior official Hassan Rouhani standing together on the deck of a warship, performing Islamic prayers against the backdrop of the Persian Gulf.

The photographs—believed to date back to the late 1980s during the concluding phase of the Iran-Iraq War—offer an evocative tableau of Iran’s clerical leadership engaged not only in governance but also in spiritual observance amidst a time of national crisis. Hassan Rouhani, who would later become Iran’s president in 2013, is seen alongside Khamenei, who assumed the role of Supreme Leader in 1989 following the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

Also appearing in the images is Mostafa Mir-Salim, another senior figure in the Islamic Republic’s political establishment, then serving in advisory and ministerial roles. The setting—a military naval vessel—highlights the proximity of Iran’s political elite to the country’s warfront during a conflict that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives on both sides.

The circulation of these photographs has stirred renewed interest in the wartime legacy of Iran’s current leaders, offering both a nostalgic and reverent view of a period often shrouded in state symbolism and scarce documentation. For many observers, the images underscore the enduring fusion of religious conviction and political authority that has defined the Islamic Republic since its inception in 1979.

While today’s geopolitical dynamics may differ sharply from those of the 1980s, the visual power of these moments—capturing prayer, power, and perseverance on the high seas—remains deeply resonant.