Iran’s new supreme leader has severe and disfiguring wounds, sources say
All three sources said Khamenei’s face was disfigured and he was seriously injured in one or both legs in the attack on the religious leader’s compound in central Tehran.
Still, the 56-year-old man is recovering from his injuries and remains mentally fit, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. Two of them said he participated in meetings via audio conference with senior officials and was involved in decision-making on key issues, including the war and negotiations with Washington.
The question of whether Khamenei’s health allows him to handle state affairs comes as Iran faces its greatest danger in decades, as high-stakes peace talks with the United States begin in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on Saturday.
Accounts from people close to Khamenei’s inner circle offer the most detailed account of the leader’s situation in weeks. Reuters could not independently verify his statements.
Khamenei’s whereabouts, status, and ability to govern still remain largely a mystery to the public; No photographs, videos or audio recordings of him have been released since the airstrike and his appointment to replace his father on March 8.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not respond to Reuters’ questions about the extent of Khamenei’s injuries or why he was not yet visible in any footage or footage. Khamenei was injured in the attack on February 28, the first day of the war launched by the USA and Israel, in which his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled the country since 1989, was killed. Mojtaba Khamenei’s wife, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were among the family members killed in the attack.
There was no official statement from Iran regarding the extent of Khamenei’s injuries. But an announcer on state television described him after his election as a “junkie”, a term used for those seriously injured in war.
Descriptions of Khamenei’s injuries align with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s March 13 statement https://www.reuters.com/world/irans-new-supreme-leader-wounded-likely-disfigured-hegseth-says-2026-03-13/ in which he said Khamenei was “injured and possibly disfigured.”
A source familiar with US intelligence assessments told Reuters that Khamenei is believed to have lost a leg.
The CIA declined to comment on Khamenei’s situation. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not respond to questions.
Whatever the severity of his injuries, the new and inexperienced leader is unlikely to be able to command the overarching power his father wielded, said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute. He added that although Vatanka appears to represent continuity, it may take years for it to establish the same level of automatic authority.
“Mojtaba will be the only voice, but it will not be the determining voice,” he said. “He needs to prove himself as a reliable, strong and superior voice. The regime as a whole has to make a decision about where they are going.”
One of the people close to Khamenei’s circle said that the religious leader’s photos can be expected to be released in a month or two and may even become public then; However, all three sources emphasized that he will only appear when his health and safety situation allow it.
‘WE DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT WORLDVIEW’
In Iran’s theocratic system of government, ultimate power is supposed to rest in the hands of the religious leader, a respected Shiite Muslim cleric appointed by a parliament of 88 ayatollahs. While the leader supervises the elected president, he directly directs parallel institutions, including the Revolutionary Guard, a powerful political and military force.
Iran’s first religious leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, had unquestioned authority as the charismatic leader of the revolution and the most knowledgeable cleric of his time.
His successor, Ali Khamenei, was a less respected cleric but served as Iran’s president. After his appointment in 1989, he spent decades consolidating his authority, in part by encouraging the power of the Revolutionary Guard.
Senior Iranian sources have previously told Reuters that his son, Mujtaba, does not have the same absolute power. The Revolutionary Guard, which helped put him in the top post after his father’s assassination, has emerged as the dominant voice https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-revolutionary-guards-take-wartime-lead-ensuring-harder-line-sources-say-2026-03-04/ on strategic decisions during the war. Iran’s mission to the UN did not respond to questions about the force used by the Guard and the new supreme leader.
As an influential figure in his father’s office, Khamenei previously spent years exerting power at the upper echelons of the Islamic Republic and established ties with senior Guard figures, officials and insiders said.
While it was widely thought he would continue his father’s hard-line approach because of his connections to the Guard, we don’t know much about his worldview, said Vatanka of the Middle East Institute.
Khamenei’s first communication with Iranians as religious leader took place on March 12; In a written statement read by a television news anchor, he said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed and warned regional countries to close US bases.
His office has since released several more brief written statements from him; This includes March 20, when he welcomes the Iranian New Year, which he calls the “year of resistance.” Iran’s war stance, approach to diplomacy, policies regarding its neighbors, ceasefire negotiations and internal unrest were also made public by other high-level officials.
‘WHERE IS MOJTABA?’ MEMES ARE CIRCULATING ON THE INTERNET
Khamenei’s absence is widely discussed on Iran’s social media and messaging app groups, when the country’s spotty internet allows, along with conspiracy theories about his situation and who is running the country.
One of the popular memes doing the rounds on the internet is one that reads, “Where is Mojtaba?” It is a photograph of an empty chair under a spotlight with the slogan.
But some government supporters, including a senior member of the Basij militia, a volunteer paramilitary group led by the Revolutionary Guard, said it was important for Khamenei to keep a low profile given the threat posed by U.S. and Israeli air strikes that have wiped out much of the country’s leadership.
A lower-ranking Basij member agreed.
“Why would he go out in public? To become a target for these criminals?” Mohammad Hosseini from the city of Qom said in a text message.
