Reports say Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has remained out of public view three days after his elevation because he was wounded on the first day of the airstrikes.
The New York Times reported that three Iranian officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the main reason he hasn’t appeared publicly is concern that revealing his location would put him at risk. They added that Khamenei was injured on the day U.S. and Israeli strikes began.
Those officials said senior government figures told them over the past two days that Khamenei sustained injuries, including to his leg. He has been sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communications and remaining on heightened alert.
Two Israeli military officials, speaking anonymously, told reporters that Israeli intelligence led the defense ministry to conclude Khamenei suffered a leg injury on Feb. 28 — a determination reached before he was selected as the new supreme leader on Sunday.
Other outlets, however, reported that Mojtaba is currently safe.
The Associated Press reported that Yousef Pezeshkian — the son of Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and a government adviser — wrote on his Telegram channel that he had heard Mojtaba was injured and checked with friends he could reach. They told him, “Fortunately, he is healthy and has no problems.”
Earlier reports said Mojtaba Khamenei lost his father — the country’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei — along with his mother, his wife and one son in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Feb. 28.
