Washington, United States. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured, questioning his ability to govern after nearly two weeks of U.S. and Israeli attacks.
Claims about Khamenei’s condition and public appearances
Hegseth said Khamenei had issued a written statement on Thursday but did not appear in a video or deliver remarks in his own voice. He said no images have been released of Khamenei since an Israeli strike at the start of the war that killed much of his family, including his father and wife.
“We know the new so-called not so supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday. A weak one, actually, but there was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement,” Hegseth told a briefing.
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father – dead. He’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run and he lacks legitimacy,” he said.
An Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that the newly appointed supreme leader was lightly injured but was continuing to operate, after state television described him as war-wounded.
Khamenei statement on Strait of Hormuz and regional bases
In the statement read out by a television presenter on Thursday, Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and called on neighboring countries to close U.S. bases on their territory or risk Iran targeting them.
U.S. briefing on strikes and conduct of the war
Hegseth was joined by General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a briefing in which they emphasized U.S. military strikes to knock out Iran’s missile and drone capabilities and its navy.
During the briefing, Hegseth said that the United States would show no mercy in the war.
“We will keep pressing, keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemy,” Hegseth said.
“No quarter” is the refusal to spare the life of someone who has expressed their intention to surrender, something prohibited by law.
What do you think the lack of images or video of Mojtaba Khamenei suggests about his situation?