Iran top diplomat says ‘no problem’ with new supreme leader after reported injuries

Summary

• Iran's foreign minister denies Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is unwell, stating "there is no problem" despite US claims of wounds.
• Ayatollah Khamenei, unseen since an airstrike killed his father and family, released a statement confirming their deaths.
• He vowed revenge for the deaths, threatening regional disruption by squeezing oil supplies and using proxies.

WASHINGTON - Iran’s foreign minister said on March 14 that there was “no problem” with the Islamic republic’s new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who US officials say was wounded.

On March 13, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth said he believed Ayatollah Khamenei, who took power after his father was killed in a strike at the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran, “is wounded and likely disfigured”.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told MS NOW’s Ayman Mohyeldin “there is no problem with the new supreme leader. He sent his message yesterday, and he will perform his duties.”

Iranian officials have previously confirmed reports that the new leader is wounded but have given no further detail.

Ayatollah Khamenei, 56, has not been seen in public since the airstrike that killed his father and predecessor as supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and several key family members.

But on March 12, he issued a written statement, in which he said his wife, sister, her child and his brother-in-law were killed.

He vowed to avenge the deaths since the start of the war with the United States and Israel.

He also emphasised Iran’s potential to cause havoc across the region by squeezing oil supplies and using regional proxies. AFP