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11:19 POLITICS

"Either nature or development"/ Rama: Protected areas are not protected through imaginary revolution

Prime Minister Edi Rama reacted again this Sunday regardin...

Reuters: Iran's new supreme leader seriously injured, disfigured

2026-04-11 11:12:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is still recovering from serious injuries to his face and leg suffered in the airstrike that killed his father early in the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters.

Khamenei's face was disfigured in the attack on the supreme leader's compound in central Tehran and he suffered a serious injury to one or both legs. However, the 56-year-old is recovering and is participating in meetings with senior officials via audio-link conferences and is engaged in decision-making on major issues, including war and negotiations with Washington.

The question of whether Khamenei's health allows him to run the affairs of state comes during the moment of greatest danger for Iran in decades, and peace talks with the United States that begin in Islamabad today.

Accounts from people close to Khamenei's inner circle have provided detailed descriptions of the leader's condition for weeks, but Reuters could not independently verify their accounts. Khamenei's whereabouts, condition and ability to rule remain largely a mystery to the public, with no photos, videos or audio recordings of him released since the airstrike and his appointment as his father's successor 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 has not yet appeared in any images or recordings.

Khamenei was wounded on February 28, the first day of the war launched by the US and Israel, in the attack that killed his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who had ruled since 1989. Mojtaba Khamenei's wife, brother-in-law and sister-in-law were among the other members of his family killed in the attack.

There has been no official Iranian statement on the extent of Khamenei's injuries. However, a news anchor on state television described him as a "janbaz," a term used for those seriously wounded in combat, after he was named supreme leader. The accounts of Khamenei's injuries are consistent with a statement made by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on March 13, when he said Khamenei was " wounded and most likely disfigured."

A source familiar with U.S. intelligence assessments told Reuters that Khamenei is suspected of having lost a leg. The CIA declined to comment on Khamenei's condition. The Israeli prime minister's office did not respond to requests for comment.

One of the people close to Khamenei's circle said that images of the supreme leader are expected to be released within a month or two and that he may even appear in public then, although all three sources stressed that he would only come out when his health and security situation allowed.

"Not much is known about his view of the world"

In Iran's theocratic system of rule, ultimate power is to be exercised by the supreme leader, a revered Shiite Muslim cleric appointed by an assembly of 88 ayatollahs. The leader oversees the elected president while directly commanding parallel institutions, including the Revolutionary Guard, a powerful political and military force. Iran's first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, enjoyed unquestioned authority as the charismatic leader of the revolution and the most learned cleric of his time.

His successor, Ali Khamenei, was a less revered cleric but had served as Iran's president. He spent decades solidifying his authority after taking office in 1989, in part by promoting the power of the Revolutionary Guard. Senior Iranian sources have previously told Reuters that his son, Mojtaba, does not command absolute power in the same way.

The Revolutionary Guard, which helped him rise to the top after his father's assassination, has emerged as the dominant voice in strategic decisions during the war. Iran's mission to the UN did not respond to questions about the power wielded by the Guard and the new supreme leader.

As an influential figure in his father's office, Khamenei had previously spent years involved in the exercise of power at the highest levels of the Islamic Republic, officials and insiders have said, building ties with senior Guard figures.

"While he is widely seen as someone who is likely to continue his father's hardline approach because of his ties to the Guard, we don't know much about his worldview ," said Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute.

Khamenei's first communication to Iranians as supreme leader occurred on March 12, when a written statement read by a news anchor said the Strait of Hormuz should remain closed and warned countries in the region to close American bases.

His office has since issued several other brief written statements from him, including one on March 20 when he welcomed the Persian New Year, which he called "the year of resistance." Public policy statements on Iran's stance on war, its approach to diplomacy, its neighbors, ceasefire negotiations and internal unrest have been made by other senior officials. /Taken from " Reuters"