Iran’s Newly Installed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Reportedly Wounded in Airstrike

New reports emerging from Iranian media suggest that Mojtaba Khamenei — recently installed as Iran’s new supreme leader — may have been wounded in an airstrike during the ongoing conflict.

The development adds further uncertainty to Iran’s leadership structure following the death of his father earlier in the war.

According to reporting cited by Sky News, an Israeli airstrike in Tehran on Feb. 28 killed Mojtaba Khamenei’s father along with his wife at the early stages of the conflict. The strike represented a significant escalation as Israel intensified efforts to dismantle Iran’s ruling structure.

Since the war began, Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, has not appeared publicly. Iranian media recently referenced that he had been wounded in an airstrike but did not provide details about when or where the injury occurred.

Israeli officials had previously assessed that Mojtaba Khamenei was injured in a separate airstrike carried out last week, according to the Times of Israel.

The leadership transition in Tehran has also drawn sharp criticism from President Donald Trump, who is currently serving his second term as President of the United States.

Speaking last week, Trump made it clear he does not support the decision to elevate Mojtaba Khamenei to the regime’s highest position.

“They are wasting their time. Khamenei’s son is a lightweight. I have to be involved in the appointment,” he said. “Khamenei’s son is unacceptable to me.”

Trump also warned that the new Iranian leader may not remain in power for long without broader international legitimacy.

The president further added that the new leader “is not going to last long” if Iran’s leadership continues without approval from the United States.

Meanwhile, Israeli officials have indicated that Mojtaba Khamenei could become a future target as Israel continues its campaign to dismantle Iran’s military and political command structure.

Observers note that Mojtaba Khamenei has long maintained close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one of the regime’s most powerful institutions. According to the Times of Israel, he has operated for years as a behind-the-scenes power broker and internal “gatekeeper” within the Iranian system.

“The choice of Mojtaba is choice of continuity with his father, and also he is more ready than other candidates to quickly consolidate power and assert control over the system,” Vali Nasr, an Iran and Shiite Islam expert at Johns Hopkins University, said, according to The New York Times.

Others inside Iran argue that Mojtaba’s deep familiarity with the regime’s security apparatus may have influenced the decision.

“Mojtaba is the wisest pick right now because he is intimately familiar with running and coordinating security and military apparatuses,” Mehdi Rahmati, an analyst in Tehran, said. “He was in charge of this already.”

Still, some regional analysts believe the leadership change does little to address the severe domestic challenges facing the Iranian regime.

Ali Alfoneh, a senior fellow at the Arab Gulf States Institute, suggested that the appointment may send a political signal but does little to solve Iran’s internal crises.

“Is this going to solve the electricity shortage of the people or the water shortage? Unemployment and all the other problems that the regime is facing? No,” Alfoneh said.

When asked by the New York Post about how the United States might respond to Iran’s new leadership, President Trump declined to provide details.

“Not going to tell you. Not going to tell you. I’m not happy with him.”

As tensions continue to rise in the region, the uncertain status of Iran’s newly installed leader may further complicate the regime’s ability to project stability during a period of growing military and political pressure.