Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly wounded in Israeli strike, avoiding public appearances

The New York Times reported Wednesday that Mojtaba Khamenei, who recently succeeded his father as Iran’s supreme leader, was wounded in an Israeli strike at the start of Operation “Roaring Lion” and has since avoided public appearances due to security concerns.

According to the report, three Iranian sources said senior officials informed them that Khamenei was injured during the first day of the Israeli operation on February 28. The sources said he sustained wounds to his legs but remains conscious and is currently hiding in a secure location with highly restricted communications.

Two Israeli military sources cited by the newspaper also said intelligence assessments indicate that Khamenei was likely wounded in his legs during the same strike.

The 56-year-old cleric was formally selected as Iran’s new supreme leader on Sunday by the Assembly of Experts, the group of 88 clerics responsible for appointing and supervising the country’s supreme leader. According to the report, the announcement of the decision had been delayed amid concerns that he could be targeted for assassination.

Israel reportedly attempted to strike the Assembly of Experts last week as part of its broader military campaign against Iranian leadership and security infrastructure.

Born in 1969 in Mashhad, Khamenei fought in the Iran–Iraq War, where he built connections with figures who later rose to senior ranks in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. He later studied in Qom and was ordained as a Shiite cleric.

Khamenei is widely considered more ideologically hardline than his father, Ali Khamenei.

Recent reports from Iran have also suggested he played a significant role in coordinating the regime’s crackdown on protests earlier this year, reportedly working closely with the Revolutionary Guard.