Iran's new supreme leader wounded, likely disfigured, Hegseth says

• Summary

• Khamenei’s ability to govern questioned after injuries

• U.S. strikes target Iran’s missile, drone capabilities

• Hegseth vows no mercy, reshapes military justice system

• Iranian drones reported in Kuwait, Iraq, UAE, Bahrain, Oman

• Six U.S. service members die in Iraq aircraft crash

WASHINGTON, March 13 (Reuters) - Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded ‌and likely disfigured, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday, questioning Khamenei’s ability to govern after nearly two weeks of U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran.

No images have been released of Khamenei since an Israeli strike at the start of the war that killed much of his family, including his father and wife.

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His first ​comments came in a statement read out by a television presenter on Thursday. In the statement, he vowed to keep the Strait ​of Hormuz shut and called on neighboring countries to close U.S. bases on their territory or risk Iran ⁠targeting them.

“We know the new so-called not so supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured. He put out a statement yesterday. A weak ​one, actually, but there was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement,” Hegseth told a briefing.

“Iran has plenty of cameras ​and plenty of voice recorders. 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.”

An Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that the newly appointed supreme leader was lightly injured but was continuing to operate, after state television described him as ​war-wounded.

Hegseth was joined by General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, at a briefing in which they emphasized U.S. ​military strikes to knock out Iran’s missile and drone capabilities and its navy.

‘NO QUARTER’

During the briefing, Hegseth said that the United States would show no mercy ‌in the ⁠war.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks at the “Shield of the Americas” Summit in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 7, 2026. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab

“We will keep pressing, keep pushing, keep advancing. No quarter, no mercy for our enemy,” Hegseth said.

“No quarter” is the refusal to spare the life of someone who has expressed their intention to surrender - something prohibited by law.

“International humanitarian law prohibits the use of this procedure, that is, ordering that there shall be no survivors, threatening the adversary therewith, or conducting hostilities on this basis,” according to the International Committee of the ​Red Cross (ICRC).

Hegseth has moved to ​reshape the top ranks of ⁠the military justice system, replacing the judge advocates general for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

The United States has carried out strikes against more than 6,000 targets in Iran over the past 14 days. Almost two ​weeks of U.S.-Israeli bombings have killed around 2,000 people in Iran.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said ​the Pentagon was ⁠sending an additional warship, along with the Marines on board, to the Middle East. The Pentagon has previously said additional troops would be heading to the region.

But despite the U.S. attacks on Iran, more Iranian drones were reported flying into Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE, Bahrain and Oman.

Additionally, six U.S. service members were ⁠killed on ​Friday when a U.S. military refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq, in an incident ​the U.S. said involved another aircraft but was not the result of hostile or friendly fire.

Since the U.S. and Israel started carrying out strikes against Iran on February 28, 11 ​U.S. troops have been killed.

Reporting by Idrees Ali, Phil Stewart and Susan Heavey; Editing by Daphne Psaledakis, David Ljunggren, Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski

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Idrees Ali

Thomson Reuters

National security correspondent focusing on the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Reports on U.S. military activity and operations throughout the world and the impact that they have. Has reported from over two dozen countries to include Iraq, Afghanistan, and much of the Middle East, Asia and Europe. From Karachi, Pakistan.

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Phil Stewart

Thomson Reuters

Phil Stewart has reported from more than 60 countries, including Afghanistan, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, China and South Sudan. An award-winning Washington-based national security reporter, Phil has appeared on NPR, PBS NewsHour, Fox News and other programs and moderated national security events, including at the Reagan National Defense Forum and the German Marshall Fund. He is a recipient of the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Joe Galloway Award.

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