Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, suffered a fractured foot, bruising around his left eye and cuts to his face in the opening day of the war, CNN reported Wednesday, citing a source familiar with his condition.
The report added fresh detail to days of speculation over the health of the 56-year-old cleric, who has not appeared in public since the war began and has yet to issue a written statement in his own name. The account broadly aligned with Israeli assessments that he was only lightly wounded.
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Iranian regime supporter holds portraits of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei
(Photo: AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Yousef Pezeshkian, the son of Iran’s president, told Iranian media that the new supreme leader was safe and that there was no cause for concern, despite reports that he had been hurt.
Iran’s ambassador to Cyprus also said Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in the same strike that killed his father, former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as his mother, wife and one of his sons. The ambassador said he had heard Mojtaba was injured in his legs, hand and arm and believed he was in a hospital, adding that he did not think Khamenei was in condition to deliver a speech.
Iranian official described Mojtaba Khamenei as “lightly injured but active,” without providing details on when he was wounded or why he had not addressed the public.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that Mojtaba Khamenei injured his leg on Feb. 28, the first day of the war, and that he had remained silent because any communication with him could expose his location and endanger him.
According to the Times, three Iranian officials said Khamenei was conscious and hiding in a highly secure location with only limited communications. The newspaper said two Israeli military officials, citing intelligence collected by Israel, also concluded that he had been wounded in the leg on Feb. 28, a finding Israel had reached before he was formally named supreme leader on Sunday.
Iran’s state media has referred to Mojtaba Khamenei as “war wounded” since the strike. When Iranian journalists recently asked Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei whether the younger Khamenei had already assumed his role as supreme leader, he did not answer directly, saying only that “those who need to get the message have received the message,” according to local media reports.
The uncertainty over his condition has fed questions about the transition at the top of Iran’s leadership during wartime. Mojtaba Khamenei was elevated by the Revolutionary Guard after his father’s killing and has remained out of public view ever since, fueling rumors inside and outside Iran about the extent of his injuries and his ability to govern.