{"id":162075,"date":"2026-03-13T02:40:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T02:40:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/162075\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T02:40:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T02:40:16","slug":"irans-new-supreme-leader-mojtaba-khamenei-releases-first-statement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/162075\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei releases first statement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran\u2019s new Supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei<\/a>\u00a0released his first statement Thursday vowing to use the \u201clever\u201d of closing the Strait of Hormuz to international energy shipping \u2014 after reports circulated that he was in a coma and had his\u00a0leg amputated after being severely injured<\/a>\u00a0in the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father and other family members.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s 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<\/p>\n

The lengthy message was read out on Iranian state TV by an anchor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs,\u201d the supreme leader said. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

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\u00a0Khamenei is little more than a figurehead and that the\u00a0Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remains the real center of power.<\/p>\n

\u201cI assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs,\u201d the supreme leader said. \u201cThe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur 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\u2019s path with their powerful blows and dispelled their illusion of being able to dominate our beloved country or possibly divide it,\u201d he added.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

Shia Muslims holding portraits of Ali Khamenei and Mojtaba Khamenei during the Youm-e-Ali procession. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Khamenei, who specifically noted avenging those killed in the strike on the Shajarah Tayyebeh elementary school<\/a> building in Minab, said Iran would \u201cobtain compensation\u201d from its enemy, meaning the US and Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The message was a clear call for Iran\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d Isfahani told The Post.<\/p>\n

Since the war began, law enforcement officials in the US and around the world have issued warnings about the\u00a0possibility of sleeper cell attacks<\/a>\u00a0from Tehran\u2019s agents and supporters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The ayatollah also said that<\/a>\u00a0Iran would continue to attack its Gulf Arab neighbors, though he insisted Tehran was only targeting US military bases.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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,\u201d Khamenei said.<\/p>\n

Khamenei\u00a0said Iran would \u201cobtain compensation\u201d from its enemy, meaning the US and Israel. ISNA\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

A schoolgirl holds a poster of Iran\u2019s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during an anti-US and Israel demonstration in Baghdad. AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Khamenei\u2019s message demonstrated that he would maintain his father\u2019s 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\u2019s words, Isfahani noted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s clear that he has not written this himself, or we would have seen him on air or in a recorded message,\u201d he said. \u201cThey clearly know he\u2019s not capable of stringing these lines together or even reading them on a teleprompter.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Isfahani has said Iran\u2019s top leaders are happy to let Khamenei take the reins of the country to avoid being targeted themselves.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The supreme leader, who was a no-show at his own succession rally in Tehran on Monday<\/a>, still hasn\u2019t been seen in public since he was appointed as his father\u2019s successor in the wake of Ali Khamenei\u2019s death in an Israeli strike just after the war began.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cOne or two of his legs have been cut off. His liver or stomach has also ruptured. He is apparently in a coma as well,\u201d the source alleged.<\/p>\n

Other Iranian sources insisted Khamenei had only suffered minor injuries \u2014 including a fractured foot, bruised eye, and face lacerations during the initial wave of airstrikes \u2014 and was sheltering inside a highly secure location.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s military leaders are likely shielding Khamenei from the public eye until he can recover, if that is even possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, they want to portray strength, and if he\u2019s injured, they might not want to put him on display,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Isfahani, who previously described Khamenei as having the \u201ccharisma of a boiled potato,\u201d said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps might continue to keep him out of sight to hide not just his reported injuries, but his ineptitude.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just being used as a puppet for the IRGC\u2019s message to the world,\u201d he said, \u201cand if he\u2019s alive, he\u2019s not even a good enough puppet to be put in front of a camera.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Khamenei, meanwhile, acknowledged the death of his father in Thursday\u2019s statement, signaling he was present in the aftermath of the attack and saw his father\u2019s body.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the honor of seeing his body after his martyrdom,\u201d Khamenei said of his father. \u201cWhat I saw was a mountain of steadfastness, and I was told that the fist of his intact hand had been clenched.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Post wires<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Iran\u2019s new Supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei\u00a0released his first statement Thursday vowing to use the \u201clever\u201d of closing the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162076,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[43526,14670,43527,66834,9,11,10,43528,1076],"class_list":["post-162075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-ayatollah-khamenei","tag-iran","tag-israel-iran-conflict","tag-mojtaba-khamenei","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-tehran","tag-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162075","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162075\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162076"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}