Share and Follow
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday that Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has sustained injuries and is “likely disfigured.” This statement confirms earlier reports that he was hurt at the onset of the ongoing conflict between the U.S. and Iran.
“Iran’s leadership is in turmoil, desperate, and in hiding. They’ve gone underground, like rats do,” Hegseth remarked during a Pentagon press briefing. “We have confirmation that the new leader, who is not as ‘supreme’ as he claims, is wounded and likely disfigured.”
Hegseth’s comments align with several reports that indicated Khamenei, aged 56, was injured during the initial wave of airstrikes conducted by U.S. and Israeli forces in Iran.
These developments follow the death of the former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli airstrikes targeting his compound in Tehran. Subsequently, Mojtaba Khamenei was named the country’s highest leader.
When questioned about Khamenei’s status on Thursday, President Donald Trump told Fox News host Brian Kilmeade, “I think he probably is alive.”
“I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, yeah,” the president said.
The new regime leader put out his first statement on Thursday, saying the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed and that Iran will keep attacking U.S. Gulf allies.
In a message that was read by an Iranian state television news anchor, Mojtaba Khamenei threatened that “other fronts” in the war “in which the enemy has little experience” would be explored if the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran continue.
Hegseth lambasted the statement as “weak” and ripped the country’s violent response to anti-regime protests, which kicked off in late December, where thousands of citizens were killed by security forces.
“There was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement. He called for unity, apparently, killing tens of thousands of protesters is his kind of unity,” the Pentagon chief said.
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why? His father dead, he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run, and he lacks legitimacy. It’s a mess for them,” Hegseth told reporters.
“Who’s in charge? Iran may not even know,” he added.