Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was reportedly wounded in the legs on Feb. 28 during the first U.S.-Israeli strikes and was named supreme leader more than a week later after reports that his father died in the initial attack. Several immediate family members are reported killed, and Khamenei is being kept at a secure location with limited communication. Iranian state media have called him “the wounded war veteran,” while the U.S. and Israel weigh how to respond to his accession.
Report: Iran’s New Supreme Leader Reportedly Wounded in Initial U.S.-Israeli Strike; Family Killed
The U.S. and Israel launched multiple strikes on Tehran on Feb. 28. / WANA / via REUTERS
Iran’s newly installed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was reportedly wounded during the initial wave of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, sources on both sides of the confrontation told The New York Times.
According to the Times, Khamenei sustained leg injuries on Feb. 28 — more than a week before Iranian state outlets publicly announced his elevation to supreme leader following the reported death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on the first day of the conflict.
A mourner holds an image of the new supreme leader and his father, the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. / Majid Asgaripour / via REUTERS
Three Iranian officials told the newspaper that, despite his injuries, Mojtaba Khamenei remained conscious and was being kept at a secure location with only limited lines of communication. His limited visibility in public and on official video feeds is widely attributed to those reported injuries.
Immediate family members reportedly killed. U.S. and Iranian accounts say several members of the new leader’s immediate family — including his wife, his mother and a son — were killed in the same strike that struck the Iranian leadership compound.
State media agency IRNA has described the new leader as “the wounded war veteran,” and photographs said to show him have circulated through Tehran, where some groups have held public pledge ceremonies.
File: The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. IRGC/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS / IRGC/WANA / via REUTERS
Background and Role
Even before these events, Mojtaba Khamenei maintained a low public profile. Reports indicate he rarely gave speeches and had never held a formal government post. As supreme leader, he now assumes combined authority as Iran’s top political figure and highest religious authority for a country of roughly 93 million people.
He is reported to have close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and — according to the Times — joined the IRGC in the 1980s after finishing high school.
Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran. Trump has said that in the initial strikes on Iran, the attacks killed potential leaders that the president identified as potential replacements. / picture alliance / picture alliance via Getty Image
International Reactions
The United States and Israel are reportedly weighing their next steps. Former President Donald Trump said he was “not happy” with the selection and has previously called it “unacceptable,” while Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has warned that any successor to the slain Ayatollah would be an “unequivocal target for elimination,” according to media reports.
Many key questions remain about Mojtaba Khamenei’s priorities and governing style. With limited public appearances and few formal positions in his past, analysts say uncertainty about his agenda adds to regional tensions.
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