'Wounded, Likely Disfigured': US Says Injured Iran Supreme Leader Lacks Legitimacy, On The Run

Last Updated:March 13, 2026, 18:00 IST

Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defense, said Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is "wounded" and "disfigured" after US-Israeli strikes.

Pete Hegseth, United States Secretary of Defense, said on Friday that Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is “wounded" and disfigured", adding the country’s leadership has gone underground amid ongoing US-Israeli strikes.

The statement followed a report which said Mojtaba, the son of Iran’s slain leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is reportedly in a coma and has lost at least one leg after being critically injured during an air strike.

“We know the new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday, but there was no voice and no video. It was only a written statement", Hegseth said.

The Defense Secretary added Iran’s Supreme Leader is “on the run" and that “he lacks legitimacy". “Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders — so why only a written statement? I think you know why. He’s scared. He’s injured. He’s on the run, and he lacks legitimacy. It’s a mess for them", he added.

Questioning the leadership of Iran amid the ongoing conflict in West Asia, Hegseth asked, “Who’s in charge? Iran may not even know."

News world 'Wounded, Likely Disfigured': US Says Injured Iran Supreme Leader Lacks Legitimacy, On The Run

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