Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in a US-Israeli airstrike that killed his father.
The 56-year-old took the top spot after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the initial attack. IranBut has not been seen in public since then.
Mojtaba Khamenei An Iranian official told Reuters it was lightly injured in the strikes but continued to operate.
The new supreme leader has long been a secretive figure in Iran and has made no public statements since being appointed by Iran’s clerical assembly on Sunday.
Mr. Khamenei lost his father, mother, wife and other relatives during an Israeli airstrike on February 28.
People hold placards with the image of Mojtaba Khamenei in Tehran. Image: Wanna/Reuters
Speculation about the new supreme leader’s health has been mounting, citing reports that Youssef Pezeshkian, son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, is injured.
In a post on Telegram, he said: “I heard the news about Mr. Mojtaba being injured. I asked friends who were in touch. They said, thank God, he is healthy and there is no problem.”
Mojtaba Khamenei. Image: Reuters
A state television anchor appeared to confirm rumors that Mr Khamenei had been wounded, describing him as a “janbaz” or “wounded veteran” of the Ramadan war, the name Iran has given to the conflict.
‘Aim for Elimination’
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) backed an unknown relative as the new supreme leader, seeing him as a more docile version of his father, who supports his hardline stance.
The younger Khamenei has tried to keep a low profile due to the risk of further US-Israeli strikes.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said last week that any leader appointed by the current Iranian leadership would be an “unequivocal target for elimination.”
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Mojtaba Khamenei is the late supreme leader’s second-eldest son and a hardline conservative who served in the IRGC’s Habib Battalion during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, allowing him to build support in its ranks.
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He has also been linked to the violent suppression of protests in Iran.
Although he studied in the holy city of Qom, he was a middle-ranking cleric, not a senior ayatollah like his father.
Mojtaba Khamenei, with his father. Image: Reuters
He bears a strong resemblance to his father and wears the Syed’s black turban, indicating that his family traces its lineage to the Prophet Mohammad.
By allowing Mr. Khamenei to inherit the role, the Assembly of Experts has created a dynasty that defies the tradition of selecting the next supreme leader on credentials alone.
US President Donald Trump had earlier branded the selection of Mojtaba Khamenei as Supreme Leader “unacceptable”.
“We want someone who will bring harmony and peace to Iran,” he said.
