Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment, was lightly injured in the US-Israeli strikes and also suffered a fractured foot and face lacerations in the ongoing war, according to multiple reports.
Khamenei, who has not been seen by Iranians or issued any public statement or message, was widely rumoured to have been injured in the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. Iranian state television had earlier described Khamenei as a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war", though it did not provide details about the nature or extent of any injury.
An Iranian official told Reuters that Mojtaba Khamenei was “lightly injured" but is continuing to operate, without offering details about the extent of any injury or why he has yet to make any public statement. An Israeli source had earlier informed Reuters that Israel’s intelligence assessment pointed to Khamenei being lightly wounded, which is why he has not been seen in public.
Fractured Foot, Face Lacerations
Khamenei suffered a fractured foot and other minor injuries on the first day of the US and Israel’s campaign, a source told CNN. The new supreme leader received a bruise around his left eye, as well as minor lacerations to his face, the source said.
Earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s son Yousef said he had heard Khamenei was injured, telling the state-affiliated Iranian Students’ News Agency that the new supreme leader is “safe and there are no concerns."
Senior Iranian sources said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) pushed through the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new supreme leader, viewing him as a more compliant successor who would support their hardline policies. Already a dominant force in Iran’s power structure, the IRGC has consolidated even greater authority since the war began, as per reports.
