Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei was lightly injured during recent strikes but remains active in directing state affairs, an Iranian official said on Wednesday.
Khamenei has not appeared publicly or issued a message since a clerical assembly selected him on Sunday to succeed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening wave of Israeli and U.S. strikes on Feb. 28.
His absence has fuelled speculation about his condition, with Iranian state television describing him as wounded during the ongoing conflict.
An Iranian official told Reuters that the new leader sustained minor injuries but continues to perform his duties. The official did not provide details about when he was wounded or explain why he has yet to address the public.
The initial strikes at the start of the war targeted Iran’s senior leadership. State television said the attacks killed not only the elder Khamenei but also Mojtaba Khamenei’s mother, sister and wife.
In a broadcast statement, a newsreader described the new supreme leader as inheriting “the blood of the martyrs” of his family.
“His Eminence Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei is today the heir to the blood of his martyred father, mother, sister and wife,” the presenter said, praising him as a wounded veteran of what Iranian officials have termed the “Ramadan War,” referring to the conflict unfolding during the Islamic fasting month.
An Israeli official familiar with intelligence assessments said Israel also believes Mojtaba Khamenei was lightly wounded, which could explain his absence from public view.
Sources previously told Reuters that Khamenei’s elevation to the position of supreme leader was strongly backed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
For years, he managed his father’s powerful office — known in Persian as the beyt — giving him a significant role in overseeing state affairs despite maintaining a relatively low public profile.
Unlike many senior clerics, Mojtaba Khamenei has rarely appeared in public or delivered speeches, and he remains largely unknown to much of the Iranian public despite his influence inside the ruling establishment.