On Friday, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth took aim at Iran’s leadership, mocking the country’s “rat”-like executives and suggesting that the newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei might be “likely disfigured.”
During a press conference, Hegseth derided Iran’s leaders, saying, “Iran’s leadership is in dire straits, desperate and hiding. They’ve gone underground, cowering. That’s what rats do.”
He further asserted, “We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured.”
Hegseth criticized Khamenei for not making a public appearance the previous day, following the delivery of the 56-year-old leader’s inaugural statement, which was broadcast on Iranian state television.
“He released a statement yesterday — a weak one, actually — but there was no voice and no video. It was just a written statement,” Hegseth pointed out.
He continued by questioning, “Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. So why a written statement? I think you know why.”
“His father dead, he’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run and he lacks legitimacy. It’s a mess for them. Who’s in charge?”
Khamenei has not been seen or heard from publicly since the US-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 killed his father, wife and other family members — leading to rampant speculation about his own whereabouts and health condition.
President Trump speculated Thursday that Khamenei was “probably alive” but may have been wounded during Operation Epic Fury after one source told The Sun the supreme leader was actually in a coma.
Hegseth didn’t elaborate on or give evidence about Khamenei’s condition during Friday’s briefing.
Experts have suggested Khamenei’s read-out message was a clear sign he is little more than a figurehead within the regime — and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) remains the real center of power.
Meanwhile, Hegseth ripped the supreme leader’s statement calling for “unity” — despite vowing to avenge “the blood of your martyrs.”
“He called for unity, apparently killing tens of thousands of protesters is his kind of unity,” Hegseth said.
Although Hegseth had claimed Iran’s leaders had gone underground, videos posted online Friday showed many top leaders marching in Tehran for Quds Day, an annual pro-Palestinian event — including President Masoud Pezeshkian, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, national security adviser Ali Larijani and Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, according to Israeli, Turkish and Arab news outlets.
