Iran’s new Supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei released his first statement Thursday vowing to use the “lever” of closing the Strait of Hormuz to international energy shipping — after reports circulated that he was in a coma and had his leg amputated after being severely injured in the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father and other family members.

The lengthy message was read out on Iranian state TV by an anchor as an image of Khamenei was displayed on screen, a break from tradition. 

Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, released his first statement Thursday, after reports circulated that he was in a coma and had his leg amputated after being severely injured. via REUTERS

The lengthy message was read out on Iranian state TV by an anchor.

“I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs,” the supreme leader said. via REUTERS

No explanation was given for why the 56-year-old did not appear in the flesh, with experts suggesting the message was a sign that Khamenei is little more than a figurehead and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remains the real center of power.

“I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs,” the supreme leader said. “The retaliation we have in mind is not limited only to the martyrdom of the great leader of the revolution [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei]; rather, every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy constitutes a separate case in the file of revenge.”

“Our sincere thanks go to our brave fighters who, at a time when our nation and beloved homeland have been unjustly attacked by the leaders of the front of arrogance, have blocked the enemy’s path with their powerful blows and dispelled their illusion of being able to dominate our beloved country or possibly divide it,” he added.  

A woman holds a picture of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei during a rally in support of the new supreme leader at Enghelab Square on March 9, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. Getty Images

Shia Muslims holding portraits of Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Khamenei during the Youm-e-Ali procession. AFP via Getty Images

Khamenei, who specifically noted avenging those killed in the strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school building in Minab, said Iran would “obtain compensation” from its enemy, meaning the US and Israel.

“If it refuses, we will take from its assets to the extent we deem appropriate, and if that is not possible, we will destroy its assets to the same extent,” he said.

The message was a clear call for Iran’s allies abroad to take revenge, according to Khosro Isfahani, the research director for the Washington-based National Union for Democracy in Iran (NUFDI) think tank.

“It hints at activating terror cells, like the warnings that have come out of Europe and the US, and the reports of preparing strikes on the West Coast,” Isfahani told The Post.

Since the war began, law enforcement officials in the US and around the world have issued warnings about the possibility of sleeper cell attacks from Tehran’s agents and supporters. 

The ayatollah also said that Iran would continue to attack its Gulf Arab neighbors, though he insisted Tehran was only targeting US military bases. 

“The lever of closing the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used as well. Studies have also been conducted on opening other fronts in which the enemy has little experience and would be highly vulnerable. Their activation will take place, if the wartime situation continues and in accordance with considerations of expediency,” Khamenei said.

Khamenei said Iran would “obtain compensation” from its enemy, meaning the US and Israel. ISNA/AFP via Getty Images

A schoolgirl holds a poster of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during an anti-US and Israel demonstration in Baghdad. AFP via Getty Images

Khamenei’s message demonstrated that he would maintain his father’s hardline position against the US and Israel, but the method used to put out the statement suggests it may not have been the supreme leader’s words, Isfahani noted. 

“It’s clear that he has not written this himself, or we would have seen him on air or in a recorded message,” he said. “They clearly know he’s not capable of stringing these lines together or even reading them on a teleprompter.” 

Isfahani has said Iran’s top leaders are happy to let Khamenei take the reins of the country to avoid being targeted themselves. 

The supreme leader, who was a no-show at his own succession rally in Tehran on Monday, still hasn’t been seen in public since he was appointed as his father’s successor in the wake of Ali Khamenei’s death in an Israeli strike just after the war began.

The statement came after an Iranian source claimed to The Sun that Khamenei was actually in a coma and undergoing intensive care at the Sina University Hospital in Tehran.

“One or two of his legs have been cut off. His liver or stomach has also ruptured. He is apparently in a coma as well,” the source alleged.

Other Iranian sources insisted Khamenei had only suffered minor injuries — including a fractured foot, bruised eye, and face lacerations during the initial wave of airstrikes — and was sheltering inside a highly secure location.

Annika Ganzeveld, the Middle East Portfolio Manager for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that if the reports were true, Iran’s military leaders are likely shielding Khamenei from the public eye until he can recover, if that is even possible. 

“Right now, they want to portray strength, and if he’s injured, they might not want to put him on display,” she said. 

Isfahani, who previously described Khamenei as having the “charisma of a boiled potato,” said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps might continue to keep him out of sight to hide not just his reported injuries, but his ineptitude. 

“He’s just being used as a puppet for the IRGC’s message to the world,” he said, “and if he’s alive, he’s not even a good enough puppet to be put in front of a camera.” 

Khamenei, meanwhile, acknowledged the death of his father in Thursday’s statement, signaling he was present in the aftermath of the attack and saw his father’s body.

The new ayatollah also confirmed that his wife, one of his sisters, his niece, and the husband of his other sister died in the airstrike as well.

“I had the honor of seeing his body after his martyrdom,” Khamenei said of his father. “What I saw was a mountain of steadfastness, and I was told that the fist of his intact hand had been clenched.”

With Post wires