Report: Iran's new supreme leader wounded in Israeli strike

2026-03-11 - 12:38

Three days after Mojtaba Khamenei (56) was named Iran's new supreme leader to succeed his assassinated father, serious questions are swirling about his physical condition. Khamenei's son has not appeared publicly, has not been seen on camera, and has not been heard from – all of which has fueled the rumor mill about his whereabouts and health. According to a report in the New York Times, citing three Iranian sources, Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded on the very first day of the joint Israeli-American strike – the same strike in which his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed, along with Mojtaba's mother, wife, and son. The sources said Khamenei is suffering from injuries, including to his legs, but is fully conscious and is staying in a secured, high-classification compound. Israeli officials are reinforcing that assessment; two military sources confirmed that the intelligence community believes Khamenei was wounded before he was formally appointed to the role of supreme leader. Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and his father and former supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei (Photo: Arab media) Additional signals about his condition came from Iranian state media. IRNA (Iran's official state news agency) and state television used the expression "janbaz jang" (a Persian term for a combatant wounded in war) when referring to his appointment. On the other side, the Iranian government's inner circle has been projecting an image of business as usual. Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and a government adviser, published a post on his Telegram channel denying the reports of injuries. "I heard the news that Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded," he wrote. "I checked with some friends who have connections, and they told me that, thankfully, praise be to God, he is safe and sound." However, when Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei was asked whether the new leader had already assumed his role and was functioning as supreme commander of the armed forces, he declined to answer directly and instead offered the vague statement, "Those who need to receive the message have received it."