Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, the second son of late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued his first message on Thursday amid the ongoing war with the United States and Israel, however, he did not appear in front of the camera. His defiant message was read out by a news anchor on Iran’s state television.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since the start of the war on February 28.
Also read: A vow, threat, and resolve: Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s first message amid US-Iran war
‘Wounded war veteran’
One of the major factors behind the 56-year-old leader’s reluctancy to appear in public or cameras is that he was injured in an attack by the United States and Israel on the first day of the war, The New York Times reported citing three Iranian officials.
They said that they have learned from their seniors that Mojtaba suffered injured to his legs in the attack but is currently at a highly secure location. Earlier, Israel had also reported that Mojtaba was injured. However, the extent of his injuries is not yet known.
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In another apparent reference to Mojtaba’s injuries, the Iran’s state news agency IRNA called him the “wounded war veteran”.
Iran supreme leader vows to avenge ‘martyrs’
In his first message after becoming Iran’s supreme leader, Mojataba on Thursday vowed to avenge the deaths of those killed in the ongoing war with the US and Israel and called them “martyrs”, including the children killed in the strike on Iran’s Minab school on the first day of the war.
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He also called for keeping the Strait of Hormuz, the channel which aids the supply of roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil, closed and using it as a leverage against “enemies” amid global fuel crisis.
“Dear fighter brothers! The desire of the masses of the people is the continuation of effective and regret-inducing defence. Furthermore, the leverage of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must certainly continue to be used,” he said in his first message.
“I assure everyone that we will not forgo vengeance for the blood of your martyrs. The vengeance we have in mind is not limited to the martyrdom of the great leader of the Revolution; rather, every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy constitutes an independent subject in the file of vengeance.”