An informed source told CNN that the new Iranian leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured on the first day of the recent clashes between Iran on the one hand, and the United States and Israel on the other hand.
According to the same source, Khamenei, 56 years old, suffered a broken foot, in addition to minor wounds to his face and a bruise around his left eye, as a result of an air strike that targeted the location where he was present at the beginning of the confrontation.
In a related context, the Iranian ambassador to Cyprus, Ali Reza Salarian, told the Guardian newspaper that Mojtaba Khamenei was injured in the same raid that led to the killing of his father, former guide Ali Khamenei, in addition to five other family members.
Salarian explained that the absence of the new guide from sight since the announcement of his inauguration was due to his injuries, noting that “he does not believe that he is in a comfortable position that allows him to give a speech at the present time.”
For his part, Youssef Pezeshkian, the son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, said in statements reported by the semi-official Iranian ISNA agency that he heard that Khamenei was injured, but at the same time he confirmed that the new guide “is fine and there are no concerns about his health condition.”
In Khamenei’s absence from public appearances, Iranian state media has resorted to using limited archival material and AI-generated images to compensate for the lack of recent footage of him, which has raised further speculation about his health.
On the other hand, Israeli Channel 12 quoted security sources as saying that there is no confirmed information yet regarding the condition of Mojtaba Khamenei, indicating that he is considered a potential target in the context of the ongoing military operations.
The channel also added that some security estimates hope that internal developments in Iran will lead to renewed protests in the country, in light of the increasing military and economic pressures.
These developments come in the midst of a large-scale military escalation between Iran on the one hand, and the United States and Israel on the other hand, after a series of strikes that targeted military sites and strategic installations inside Iranian territory.
One of these strikes led to the killing of the former Iranian guide, Ali Khamenei, which prompted Iran’s Leadership Council of Experts to elect his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, as the new guide of the Islamic Republic, in a move considered a turning point in the history of the Iranian regime.
Observers believe that the new guide, although he is not a senior traditional cleric, has strong relations with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the economic elite linked to the regime, and believes that he may adopt a more stringent approach in managing the regional conflict during the next stage.
