OAN Staff Katherine Mosack
4:12 PM – Friday, March 13, 2026
U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said he believes Iran’s newly-selected Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is “wounded and likely disfigured” amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Hegseth provided an update on the two-week-long conflict initiated by Operation Epic Fury at a press conference on Friday. He also addressed mounting reports regarding Khamenei’s condition.
“We know the new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured,” Hegseth remarked.
He said that the son of the deceased Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by an Israeli strike on February 28th, issued a “weak” statement on Thursday, calling for unity.
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why,” Hegseth said. “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.”
Hegseth did not elaborate on Mojtaba’s condition during the briefing.
However, he expressed unwavering confidence in the United States military’s power in the conflict.
“As I said from the start, President Trump holds the cards. He’ll determine the pace, the tempo and the timing of this conflict,” Hegseth said.
President Donald Trump speculated on Thursday that Mojtaba was “probably alive in some form,” but may have been wounded after a source told The Sun that the new supreme leader was actually in a coma.
The Islamic Iranian regime has scrambled to put a new leader in place after Ali was confirmed dead, as well as dozens of members of his government, on the first day of the U.S. and Israel’s joint strikes.
He died at age 86 after ruling Iran as a religious leader for over 36 years and becoming the longest-serving leader in the modern Middle East. At the time of his death, Trump called him “one of the most evil people in history.”
An “Assembly of Experts” officially named the younger Khamenei the country’s third supreme leader more than a week after his father’s death, while having to postpone his funeral services due to heavy military activity in the region.
Trump has dismissed the new leader, calling him a “lightweight.”
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