The US Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, stated this Friday, March 13, that the new Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured and probably disfigured in the attacks that killed his father at the beginning of the war against Iran.
“We know that the new supposed, not so supreme, leader is injured and probably disfigured”said the head of the Pentagon at a press conference, cited by the Spanish news agency EFE.
Hegseth noted that Khamenei released a statement on Thursday, the first since he was announced as the new leader on Sunday, which was read by a state TV presenter.
Iran’s new supreme guide “published a statement, actually a very weak one, but there was no voice and there was no video,” he said.
Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father, ‘Ayatollah’ Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first attack by the United States and Israel against Tehran, on February 28.
Hegseth considered that Mojtaba Khamenei “lacks legitimacy” and that he speaks of unity after “murdering tens of thousands of protesters”.
The Secretary of Defense, a department that Donald Trump’s Administration calls War, alluded to the protests that began at the end of 2025 and were violently repressed by the regime, with thousands of deaths.
“Iran has cameras and recorders, why is it issuing a written statement? I think we know why”insisted Hegseth, who said that Khamenei is afraid and a large part of his family died in the attacks.
In the message released on Thursday, Khamenei showed a tone of defiance, called for maintaining the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, threatened US bases in the Middle East and assured that the “blood of the martyrs will be avenged”.
The statement was read by a presenter on state television, while an image of the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and a photo of the new leader were broadcast.
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