USs Hegseth reports Irans new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly injured

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has made a statement claiming that Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is wounded in US-Israeli attacks on the country. Hegseth stated this during a news conference at the Pentagon on Friday.

Khamenei issued his first public statement since taking over as supreme leader following the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28. In written remarks read out on Iranian state television, Khamenei pledged to maintain the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and vowed to attack all US bases in the region unless they were shuttered immediately.

Hegseth did not provide evidence for his assessment of Khamenei’s condition, and Iran has not given any details about the supreme leader’s health. Iranian leaders have also not responded to Hegseth’s claims.

According to recent figures from Iran’s Health Ministry, at least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured in US-Israeli attacks on Iran since the war began late last month. The US and Israel claim to be targeting Iranian leaders as well as military and nuclear infrastructure, while Iran says thousands of civilian sites have been attacked.

Hegseth stated that US and Israeli attacks have struck more than 15,000 Iranian targets since February 28. He also claimed that the production lines, military plants, and defence innovation centres of Iran’s leadership are “defeated” and that they are “desperate and hiding”.

The Pentagon chief did not provide any further information on Hegseth’s assessment of Khamenei’s condition or the evidence behind it.

Source: Al Jazeera