Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s New Supreme Leader, Was Wounded On The First Day Of U.S.

Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been wounded, though his condition is not considered dangerous. This was stated in an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei.

“He is wounded, but he is fine, I do not know when he will deliver his first speech,” Baghaei said.

According to him, “three or four candidates” were considered for the post of Supreme Leader, but a majority of the Assembly of Experts ultimately backed Mojtaba Khamenei.

Reports of Khamenei’s injury first surfaced on March 7—when Israel’s Channel 12, citing sources, said he had been wounded as early as February 28, on the first day of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran. The New York Times later reported that the new leader had sustained leg injuries at the start of the war. According to the newspaper, this explains both his absence from public view and the lack of statements following his appointment.

Iranian authorities announced the appointment of a new Supreme Leader on March 8. The 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei is the second son of Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in a joint Israeli-U.S. airstrike.