Iran's supreme leader severely disfigured by US strikes: report

Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is severely disfigured after suffering leg and face injuries as a result of joint U.S.-Israel airstrikes on Tehran in February, Reuters reported Saturday.

Khamenei is recovering after incurring the injuries in the February 28 airstrikes that killed his father, former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Hosseini Khamenei. He has not been seen publicly since being hospitalized.

Despite the injuries, Khamenei allegedly remains "mentally sharp," Reuters reported, citing a trio of anonymous sources within his inner circle. The new supreme leader is in communication with the Iranian delegation in Pakistan for peace talks with a U.S. delegation led by Vice President JD Vance.

The Reuters report corroborates an earlier statement from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who told reporters on March 13 that Khamenei was "likely disfigured."

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He then reiterated the claim in a Thursday press conference while outlining the U.S. military's achievements in Iran.

"Their top leadership was systematically eliminated, their previous Iranian supreme leader dead, the supreme national security council secretary dead, the supreme leader office advisor dead, the supreme leader military office chief dead, the defense minister no longer with us, the IRGC commander dead, the armed forces general staff commander dead, the intelligence minister dead, the IRGC navy commander no longer here, the IRGC Intel chief dead," Hegseth listed.

"I skipped over a bunch, and I could go on and on and on, to include the new — so-called new supreme leader, wounded and disfigured. This new regime was out of options and out of time, so they cut a deal."

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Despite his weakened condition, Khamenei vowed to put up resistance in a defiant written statement Thursday.

"Iran is not seeking war but will not forfeit its rights and considers all resistance fronts as a unified entity," the statement read.

Hegseth dismissed the statement as "weak" in his March press conference.

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"It was a written statement. Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement?" Hegseth asked. "I think you know why. His father, 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."

Sources reportedly told Reuters that Khamenei could enter the public spotlight in a month or two, but only if "his health and the security situation allowed.

While many publicly question where and when we may see the supreme leader again, Iranian hardliners stress the importance of him keeping a low-profile.

"Why should he ​appear in public? To become a target for these criminals?" an Iranian militiaman asked Reuters in a text message.