Sources said Iran’s new supreme leader was deeply and badly hurt

By Parisa Hafezi and Angus McDowall

DUBAI, April 11 (Reuters) – Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still recovering from serious facial and leg injuries sustained in an airstrike that killed his father early in the war, three people close to his inner circle told Reuters.

Khamenei’s face was disfigured and one or both of his legs were seriously injured in the attack on the supreme leader’s compound in central Tehran, the three sources said.

The 56-year-old is still recovering from his injuries and remains mentally sharp, according to the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters. He is participating in meetings with senior officials via audio conferencing and is involved in decision-making on key issues, including war and talks with Washington https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/us-iran-ceasefire-what-we-know-2026-04-08/, two of them said.

The question of whether Khamenei’s health will allow him to run state affairs comes at a moment of grave danger for Iran in decades, with high-stakes peace talks with the United States beginning Saturday in the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

Accounts from people close to Khamenei’s inner circle provide the most detailed account of the leader’s week. Reuters could not independently verify their details.

Khamenei’s location, condition and ability to rule are still a mystery to the public, with no photos, videos or audio recordings released since the airstrikes and his March 8 appointment as his father’s replacement.

Iran’s UN mission did not respond to Reuters questions about Khamenei’s injuries or that he has not yet appeared in any images or recordings.

Khamenei was wounded on February 28, the first day of a war launched by the US and Israel 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 other members of his family in the attack.

There has been no official Iranian statement on the extent of Khamenei’s injuries. However, a newsreader on state television described him as a “janbaz”, a term used for those badly wounded in war, after he was named supreme leader.

The details of Khamenei’s injuries are consistent with a statement https://www.reuters.com/world/irans-new-supreme-leader-wounded-likely-disfigured-hegseth-says-2026-03-13/ by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on March 13 when he called Khamenei “likely disfigured”.

A source familiar with US intelligence assessments told Reuters that Khamenei was believed to have lost a leg.

The CIA declined to comment on Khamenei’s condition. The Israeli prime minister’s office did not respond to questions.

Alex Vatanka, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said that, given the severity of his injuries, the new and inexperienced leader is unlikely to command the supreme power that his father wielded. While he appears to represent continuity, it may take years to create the same level of automated authority, Bhatanka added.

“Mojataba will be a voice but not a decisive one,” he said. “He needs to prove himself as a credible, powerful, overriding voice. The regime as a whole has to make decisions about where they are going.”

A person close to Khamenei’s circle said a photo of the supreme leader could be expected to be released within a month or two and he could appear in public then, although all three sources stressed that he would only appear when his health and security situation permits.

‘We don’t know much about his worldview’

In Iran’s theocratic system of government, ultimate power is exercised by the supreme leader, a revered Shia Muslim cleric appointed by an assembly of 88 ayatollahs. The leader oversees the elected president and directly commands parallel institutions, including the Revolutionary Guards, a powerful political and military force.

Iran’s first Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, enjoyed undisputed authority as the charismatic leader of the revolution and the most learned cleric of his day.

His successor, Ali Khamenei, was a less respected cleric but served as Iran’s president. He spent decades cementing his authority after his appointment in 1989, partly by boosting the power of the Revolutionary Guards.

His son Mojtaba does not command full power as such, senior Iranian sources have previously told Reuters. The Revolutionary Guards, which https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-new-leader-still-silent-was-elevated-by-revolutionary-guards-2026-03-10/ helped elevate him to high office after his father’s assassination, have emerged as a muted voice. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/irans-revolutionary-guards-take-wartime-lead-ensuring-harder-line-sources-say-2026-03-04/ Strategic Decisions in Wartime. Iran’s UN mission did not respond to questions about the guards and the power wielded by the new supreme leader.

As an influential figure in his father’s office, Khamenei previously spent years nL1N3ZW031 involved in the exercise of power at the top levels of the Islamic Republic, officials and insiders said, building relationships with senior Guard figures.

He is widely seen as likely to continue his father’s hardline views because of his ties to the Guards, but we don’t know much about his worldview, said Vatanka of the Middle East Institute.

Khamenei’s first communication with Iranians as supreme leader came on March 12, in a written statement read by a television news anchor, saying the Strait of Hormuz must remain closed and warning countries in the region to close US bases.

His office has since released a few other brief written statements from him, including one on March 20 when he welcomed the Persian New Year, which he dubbed the “year of resistance”. Other senior officials have made public statements of policy on Iran’s war stance, diplomacy, neighbors, ceasefire talks and approach to domestic unrest.

‘Where is Mojtaba?’ Memes circulate online

Khamenei’s absence is widely discussed in Iranian social media and messaging app groups, when the country’s patchy internet allows, along with conspiracy theories about his situation and who is running the country.

A popular meme circulating online is under the spotlight “Where’s Mojtaba?”

However, some government supporters, including senior members of the Basij militia, a volunteer paramilitary group run by the Revolutionary Guards, said it was important for Khamenei to keep a low profile given the threat posed by a wave of US and Israeli airstrikes that have already wiped out much of the country’s leadership.

A lower ranking Basij member agreed.

“Why would he appear in public? To be a target for these criminals?” Mohammad Hosseini of Qom city said in a text message.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi; Additional reporting by Jonathan Lande in Washington and Rami Ayyub in Jerusalem; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Praveen Char)