Pete Hegseth, U.S. Minister of the Ministry of National Defense (War Department), said on the 13th (local time) that Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, appears to have been injured.
Minister Hegseth held a briefing at the Ministry of National Defense building that day with Dan Caine, chair of the the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and said, "We know there is a strong possibility that the so‑called newly emerged supreme leader has been injured and is in a disfigured state."
This is the first time a senior U.S. official has disclosed the injury of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Minister Hegseth noted, "He issued a statement yesterday, but it was weak, and there was no audio and no video," adding, "It was a written statement." In his first statement the previous day, Mojtaba Khamenei warned the United States and Israel that he would "take bloody revenge." However, Mojtaba released the message by having an anchor from Iran's state TV read the statement on his behalf. This prompted speculation that something was wrong with his condition.
Minister Hegseth said, "Why a written statement? Do you know why his father (Ayatollah Ali Khamenei) died?" and added, "He is terrified and injured, on the run, and has no legitimacy."