Tipsheet

Has Iran's New Ayatollah Already Been Wounded?

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  March 09, 2026 9:45 AM

We're not quite sure what the Ayatollah situation in Iran really is, because as quickly as Iran is appointing new Supreme Leaders, the U.S. or Israel are blowing them to bits. On March 3, there was talk that Mojtaba Khamenei, a son of the dead Ayatollah, would be appointed his successor. Almost immediately, there were reports that Mojtaba Khamenei had been dispatched, too.

That didn't seem to be the case, with Mojtaba Khamenei being appointed officially over the weekend.

Here's more from Fox News:

Iran’s Assembly of Experts has elected Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as the country’s new supreme leader, according to Iranian state television.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, is the second-eldest son of Ali Khamenei and was born in Mashhad in 1969.

His early childhood coincided with his father’s rise as a revolutionary figurehead opposing the monarchy of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

As soon as the news broke, many predicted that Mojtaba Khamenei was living on borrowed time, and Israel immediately vowed to eliminate him, too.

Now the Daily Mail is reporting the Mojtaba Khamenei may have been wounded already.

Here's more from The Daily Mail (emphasis added):

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son has been wounded in the Iran war, it emerged today after he was named as the country's new Supreme Leader.

Mojtaba, 56, the second son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was announced as his successor on Sunday after being appointed by the regime's 88-person assembly - despite previous opposition from his father.

The 'vengeful' hardline cleric is already marked for assassination by Israel after it vowed to 'eliminate' whoever succeeded the slain Ayatollah, having killed him and Mojtaba's wife Zahra Haddad-Adel in strikes on the first day of the conflict.

In one report on his ascension to Supreme Leader on Iranian state TV, it refers to him as being wounded in the war.

The anchor describes him as 'janbaz', or wounded by the enemy, in the 'Ramadan war,' which is how media in Iran refer to the current conflict.

It does not elaborate on how he was injured, although his wife and father were killed in Israeli strikes on Tehran.

An analyst on air later suggested Khamenei's wounding could have been during his service in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, although the differing accounts could not be immediately reconciled.

It's completely possible the "analyst" was trying to save face for the battered Iranian regime, which has seen top military and political leaders obliterated in Operation Epic Fury, which started on February 28.

Nothing has been confirmed by U.S. or Israeli forces, so we're going to monitor the situation until we have confirmation. We will keep a eye out for updates. But if Mojtaba Khamenei has in fact been wounded, it's a testament to the resolve of the U.S.-Israeli forces have to undo the Islamic regime once and for all, and it's clear he won't last long as the Ayatollah.