US War Secretary: Iran’s Supreme Leader wounded and ‘likely disfigured’

Shafaq News- Washington

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth on Friday alleged that Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded and possibly “disfigured” during the ongoing war involving Washington, Tel Aviv, and Tehran.

During a news briefing, Hegseth questioned why a recent message attributed to Khamenei —broadcast by Iranian state television— appeared only in written form without video or audio, remarking, “I think you know why.” He also claimed the Iranian leader is “scared,” injured, and “on the run,” while arguing that he “lacks legitimacy.”

Iranian authorities have not responded publicly to the comments, and no independent confirmation regarding Khamenei’s condition has emerged.

Iran decided on Sunday to appoint Mojtaba Khamenei as the country’s new Supreme Leader, succeeding his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during recent US and Israeli strikes, making him the third leader of the Islamic Republic since 1979.