United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has stated that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been wounded and is likely disfigured as a result of the ongoing US-Israeli military campaign against Iran.
Hegseth made the claim during a press conference on Friday, March 13, 2026, while asserting that the US is on track to “defeat, destroy, disable all of their meaningful military capabilities at a pace the world has never seen before.”
“We know the new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured,” Hegseth said.
The statement follows earlier comments by President Donald Trump in a Fox News interview, where he described Khamenei as “damaged” and suggested he is “probably alive in some form.”
The conflict has driven global oil prices to around $100 per barrel, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, contributing to continued rises in US gas pump prices.
On Thursday, Mojtaba Khamenei made his first public remarks since assuming leadership, threatening to open “other fronts” in the war.
The US-Israeli operation against Iran began in late February with airstrikes that killed the previous Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials. Iran has vowed continued resistance, with Parliament Speaker Mohammed Ghalibaf stating Tehran is no longer seeking a ceasefire and will respond forcefully to aggression.
