Iran's new supreme leader wounded, likely disfigured, Hegseth says
U.S. President Donald Trump, with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at his side, speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight from Dover, Delaware, to Miami, Florida, March 7, 2026. Reuters-Yonhap
WASHINGTON — Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, questioning Khamenei's ability to lead after nearly two weeks of U.S. 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 neighboring countries to close U.S. bases on their territory or risk Iran targeting them.
An Iranian official told Reuters 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."