Twelve days after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the opening strike of the war — while he himself was only lightly wounded — Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed as his father's successor as supreme leader on Thursday afternoon released his first message. The statement was read on his behalf by an announcer on Iranian state television. The new Iranian leader has not been seen in public since the war began and has yet to appear on camera.
In the statement, Mojtaba Khamenei called for the struggle against the United States and Israel to continue, urged that the Strait of Hormuz remain closed and vowed: “We will not refrain from avenging the blood of the martyrs.”
Khamenei’s son also promised that attacks on Gulf states would continue. He called on those countries to shut down the American bases on their territory. “We believe in friendship with our neighbors and are targeting only military bases. We will be forced to continue these attacks,” he said.
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The statement was read on Motjaba Khamenei's behalf by an announcer on Iranian state television
(Photo: Reuters)
He thanked the “fighters of the resistance front” — Iran’s network of allied militias and groups across the Middle East — describing them as “Iran’s best sons.” Khamenei’s son also demanded compensation from “the enemies” and warned that if it was not paid, Iran would “destroy” their assets to the same extent. In his speech he called on the Iranian public to take part Friday in rallies marking Quds Day (Jerusalem Day), when Iran marks its opposition to Israel and Zionism.
He also thanked Iran’s proxies, noting Hezbollah’s entry into the fighting. “We saw how Hezbollah supported the Islamic Republic despite all the obstacles, and the Iraqi resistance continued bravely,” he said.
Mojtaba Khamenei said he learned of his selection by the Assembly of Experts — the body of 88 Shiite clerics responsible for appointing Iran’s supreme leader — through television. “I visited the body of Imam Khamenei after his death, and what I saw was a mountain of steadfastness, pride, honor and revolution. We must act in every arena where the enemies are weak.”
CNN reported Wednesday that Khamenei’s son, who was wounded on the first day of the war, is suffering from a fracture in his foot, an injury around his left eye and cuts to his face. The report confirmed Israeli assessments that he was only lightly wounded.
Since the start of the war, Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public, and many rumors have circulated about his condition.
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Ali Khamenei and son Mojtaba Khamenei
(Photos: Vahid Salemi/AP AFP PHOTO/ HO/KHAMENEI.IR )
The New York Times reported that the new supreme leader had not issued even written statements until now, out of concern that any communication with him could reveal his location and endanger him. Iranian officials told the newspaper that Khamenei’s son is conscious and hiding in a highly secure location, with communications kept to a minimum.
In the opening strike of the operation dubbed Roaring Lion, Mojtaba’s mother, wife and son were also killed, along with his father. Since then, Iran’s state television and the Islamic Republic’s official news agency, IRNA, have referred to him as “a wounded war veteran.”
First published: 16:00, 03.12.26