Iran denies new supreme leader injured after Pentagon chief says he is 'probably disfigured' after US strikes
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, assured on Saturday, March 14, that there is no problem with the new supreme leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, in the context in which the head of the Pentagon, Pete Hegseth, had stated the day before that he was injured and is probably disfigured.
Mojtaba Khamenei/PHOTO: Profimedia
“Surely you will soon see, I suppose, that there is no problem with the new supreme leader. He sent his message yesterday and will fulfill his duties. It fulfills its duties according to the Constitution and will continue to do so“, Araqchi declared in an interview for the news station MS Now, writes Agerpres.
“I think at this point it should have been clear and it should have been public knowledge that our system is deeply rooted in society. The Islamic Republic is a system that does not depend on any person or group of people. It is well established.” said the minister.
Iran's foreign minister dismissed Pete Hegseth's claims that the new supreme leader was injured, saying the claims were not credible and that Iranian authorities had publicly contradicted the reports.
Asked about the hypothetical help of Russia or China to Iranian intelligence services, Araqchi replied that Russia and China are “strategic partners” of Iran.
“We have maintained close cooperation in the past, which continues, including military cooperation“, he claimed. However, he added that he would not go into details on this matter.
The representative of Iran wanted to clarify in the interview with the American press that this is not his country's war.
“This is a war imposed on us. We did not start this war. It was an unprovoked, unjustified and illegal act of aggression against us and we are only defending ourselves.”said the Iranian foreign minister.
Hegseth on Mojtaba Khamenei: “The new so-called supreme leader is wounded and probably disfigured”
On Friday, the Pentagon chief then referred to the first public statement made the day before about Iran's new supreme leader by questioning its legitimacy.
“We know the new so-called supreme leader is wounded and probably disfigured. He issued a statement yesterday – a weak one, actually – but there was no voice or video. It was just a written statement. He called for unity… apparently killing tens of thousands of protesters is his idea of unity.”
Hegseth questioned why the Supreme Leader only issued a written statement, adding: “I think you know why.”
Speculation about the health of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has intensified amid his absence from public events and a lack of images or direct statements since the attacks that killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other family members.
According to quoted anonymous sources, the 56-year-old man was seriously injured in airstrikes coordinated by US and Israeli forces. Several accounts claim that he suffered the amputation of one or both legs and internal injuries, including to his liver or stomach.
