Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been injured during the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, confirmed Iran’s President’s son, Yousef Pezeshkian on Wednesday. According to news agency AFP, the president’s son said the new leader, who succeeded his father, Ali Khamenei, after he was killed in US-Israel strikes, is “safe and sound” despite reports of an injury during the war.ย
The statement comes amid growing speculation over Khamenei’s health and whereabouts.ย
He is safe and sound
“I heard news that Mr Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I have asked some friends who had connections. They told me that, thank God, he is safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government adviser, in a post on his Telegram channel.
State television had called Khamenei a “wounded veteran of the Ramadan war” but never specified his injury.
Mojtaba Khamenei was injured on first day of war: Reportย
In a Wednesday report, the New York Times, quoting three unnamed Iranian officials, said that Khamenei “had suffered injuries, including to his legs, but that he was alert and sheltering at a highly secure location with limited communication”.
Khamenei, 56, was announced on Sunday as the successor to his father, Ali Khamenei, the longtime supreme leader who was killed on the opening day of the war.
The new supreme leader is the son and successor of the Islamic Republic’s longtime ruler, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, which triggered a war across the Middle East.
The 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, a discreet figure who has rarely appeared in public or spoken at official events, has yet to address the nation or issue a written statement since he was declared supreme leader on Sunday.
Also Read:ย Cargo ship set ablaze in Strait of Hormuz after being hit by projectile, says British military
Also Read:ย US says it destroyed 16 mine-laying vessels as Iran threatens to block Gulf oil exports