US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded and "likely disfigured", casting doubt on his ability to lead after nearly two weeks of conflict.
By: FRANCE 24 Demonstrators hold posters of the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, on March 13, 2026. © Vahid Salemi, AP Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, questioning Khamenei's ability to lead after nearly two weeks of US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Khamenei has not been seen by Iranians since his selection on Sunday by a clerical assembly, and his first comments came in a statement read out by a television presenter on Thursday. In them, he vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and called on neighbouring countries to close US bases on their territory or risk Iran targeting them.
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An Iranian official said on Wednesday that the newly appointed supreme leader was lightly injured but was continuing to operate, after state television described him as war-wounded.
"We know the new so-called not so supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday. A weak one, actually, but there was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement," Hegseth told a briefing.
"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."
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