United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is “wounded and likely disfigured,” a day after the cleric issued a written statement vowing to continue the war.
Speaking on Friday, Hegseth said, “We know the new so-called (not-so) Supreme Leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday, a weak one actually, but there was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement.”
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father’s dead. He’s scared. He’s injured. He’s on the run. And he lacks legitimacy. It’s a mess for them. Who’s in charge? Iran may not even know,” the war secretary added.
Hegseth also criticised the message issued by the Iranian leader, saying, “He called for unity. Apparently, killing tens of thousands of protesters is his kind of unity.”
The comments came a day after Mojtaba Khamenei released a written message pledging to continue the war amid escalating tensions in the region.
The statement was issued on Thursday and marked the cleric’s public message after assuming Iran’s top post following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli strike.
