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The expression gained traction during the 12-day war with Israel in June, when Khamenei largely disappeared from public view amid reports that he had moved into a fortified underground shelter.

While Iranian officials did not confirm his location at the time, state media limited his presence to a pair of prerecorded video statements, which appeared to be filmed from a bunker rather than his office.

Since then, new reports have reinforced the perception of prolonged seclusion.

According to sources who spoke to Iran International on condition of anonymity, Khamenei has again taken refuge in an underground facility in Tehran amid heightened concerns about a potential US strike amid the recent wave of nationwide protests.

The site is described as a fortified complex with interconnected tunnels, with his son, Masoud Khamenei, overseeing day-to-day operations and serving as the main conduit between the leader’s office and the government.

In Persian, “moush” (rat) is a common metaphor for timidity or avoidance, particularly when someone is perceived as retreating from danger rather than confronting it. By pairing the word with Khamenei’s name, critics draw a sharp contrast between the image he has long cultivated – of a steadfast leader and commander-in-chief – and his physical absence during moments of acute national crisis.

The nickname has also taken on a visual dimension. Protest imagery circulating online depicts rats in clerical robes or emerging from underground tunnels, reinforcing the association between concealment and political weakness.

One chant that includes the term – “Cry out, Moush-Ali, Pahlavi is coming” (Zajjeh Bezan Moush-Ali, Dareh Miad Pahlavi) – links the insult to broader political demands and signals a rejection not only of Khamenei personally, but of the authority structure he represents.

For analysts, the spread of the phrase points to something deeper than mockery. Khamenei’s extended absence during the war, followed by reports that senior officials struggled to reach him directly, has raised questions about leadership visibility and continuity.

While political slogans in Iran have evolved before, the rapid adoption of “Moush-Ali” shows how language becomes a vehicle for social judgment – compressing complex grievances about power, accountability, and legitimacy into a single, resonant word.

In that sense, the term is less about insult than about perception: a reflection of how authority is being re-imagined, contested, and, increasingly, stripped of its aura.

Egypt’s foreign minister held separate phone calls with senior officials from the US and Iran on Wednesday, urging de-escalation and diplomacy as tensions rose in the region.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty spoke with US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, stressing the need to ease tensions and avoid further instability.

“He warned against plunging the region into new cycles of instability,” the Egyptian foreign ministry said.

Abdelatty also urged steps to pave the way for renewed dialogue between Washington and Tehran on Iran’s nuclear program, it added.

US President Donald Trump is not going to attack Iran, an Iranian lawmaker said, dismissing Washington’s military moves in the region as psychological pressure rather than preparations for war.

“America will definitely not attack Iran,” Mohammad Seraj, a Tehran representative in parliament, was quoted as saying by the Iranian outlet Didban Iran.

Seraj argued that Trump believes he can achieve his aims by creating an atmosphere of fear.

He also issued a warning over US naval deployments, describing an American aircraft carrier sent to the region as a potential target.

“The ship the United States has dispatched is itself a target for us,” Seraj said. “If we wanted, we could easily send American ships to the bottom of the open seas with our missiles.”

Seraj said Trump would require congressional authorization for military action and argued that neither domestic US politics nor regional conditions favored a new confrontation. “This is purely psychological warfare,” he said.

He also rejected the prospect of negotiations under US conditions, saying Iran would not accept what he described as demands imposed through threats.  “We will never negotiate with Trump,” Seraj said.

Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, Iran’s army deputy coordinator, dismissed the presence of US aircraft carriers in the region, saying Tehran was unfazed by such displays of force and warned that any confrontation would be costly.

Speaking on Wednesday, Sayyari said it made “no difference whether the threat comes from land, sea or air,” adding that any US “adventurism” would carry “heavy costs for the enemy,” according to Iranian state-linked media.

He described the US naval buildup as an attempt to intimidate rivals through what he called long-standing “gunboat diplomacy,” arguing that deploying large warships was meant to create fear rather than reflect real strength.

Sayyari said Iran was prepared to respond if necessary, insisting that American forces would also suffer serious damage in the event of an escalation.

A senior commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guards dismissed US talk of naval deployments toward the region, saying Tehran was not intimidated by Washington’s rhetoric.

Ahmad Vahidi, the IRGC’s deputy commander-in-chief, said Iran was “not afraid of words,” adding that statements by US officials reflected “the depth of America’s internal problems,” according to state media.

His comments came after US President Donald Trump said “another armada” of US naval forces was moving toward Iran, while urging Tehran to reach a deal with Washington.