Tehran — Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei has been injured but remains in good health, according to the son of President Masoud Pezeshkian — the first explanation to emerge publicly for why the 56-year-old has not appeared before the nation since taking office at the weekend.
Yousef Pezeshkian, who also serves as a government adviser, said he had made enquiries after hearing reports that Khamenei had been wounded.
“They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” he wrote on his Telegram channel Wednesday.
The New York Times reported, citing three unnamed Iranian officials, that the new supreme leader sustained injuries to his legs but remains conscious and alert, sheltering at a fortified location with restricted communications.
Speculation has centred on the opening day of the conflict — February 28 — when a US-Israeli air strike on a Tehran compound killed his father Ali Khamenei, along with his mother and wife. Mojtaba is believed to have been present.
Iranian state television had previously described him using the word “janbaz” — a Persian term for a wounded war veteran — without elaborating on his condition or whereabouts.
His appointment by the Assembly of Experts clerical body was announced days ago, but he has not been photographed, filmed, or heard from publicly since.
A Leader Already Under Threat
Large portraits of the new supreme leader have gone up across Tehran, including one depicting him receiving the Iranian national flag from his late father, with founding revolutionary leader Ruhollah Khomeini depicted in the background.
Thousands of government supporters carried his image at a rally in central Tehran on Monday, projecting an image of continuity and stability.
But after dark, a different mood has emerged in parts of the capital, with residents chanting “Death to Mojtaba” — reflecting deep public hostility toward a man widely held responsible for coordinating the violent suppression of anti-government uprisings stretching back to 2009.
His late father Ali endured a similar threat, losing the use of one arm after surviving an assassination attempt in 1981 carried out by the People’s Mujahedin of Iran. The supreme leader position carries lifetime tenure and doubles as the highest religious authority for Shia Muslims worldwide.
‘He Will Be in a Bunker for a Very Long Time’
Emile Hokayem of the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London said Mojtaba Khamenei’s invisibility since his appointment is entirely predictable given what he witnessed on the opening day of the war.
“He saw what happened to his father, his wife, his mother, who were all killed in the initial attack,” Hokayem said at an online event hosted by his think-tank on Monday. “Killing him early is certainly an Israeli priority. If he survives, he becomes a totem, a testimony to the resilience of the system.”
Hokayem said he expects the new supreme leader to hand day-to-day governance to national security chief Ali Larijani while military operations are directed by parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
Both the Iranian armed forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps formally declared their loyalty to Khamenei following his nomination. The Houthi movement in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon also signalled their allegiance. Russian President Vladimir Putin offered what he described as “unwavering support.”
Trump: ‘He’s Going to Have to Get Approval From Us’
Washington has made no attempt to conceal its hostility toward the appointment.
President Trump had previously declared that Mojtaba Khamenei would be “unacceptable” as supreme leader and that the United States intended to have a role in choosing Iran’s next leadership.
“He’s going to have to get approval from us,” Trump told ABC News on Sunday. “If he doesn’t get approval from us, he’s not going to last long.”
Operation Epic Fury continues. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has confirmed the United States will not publicly disclose the limits of its military options inside Iran.
For the latest on the Iran conflict and Operation Epic Fury, visit M10News.com.
This is a developing story. Updates will follow as more facts are confirmed.
