Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araqchi has dismissed speculations surrounding health condition of the country’s new Supreme Leader, saying there are no issues with his health. The remarks came amid reports circulating after a statement by a senior US official earlier this week.
Speaking in an interview with MS Now on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there was “no problem” with Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran’s new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is “wounded and likely disfigured,” a day after the cleric issued a written statement vowing to continue the war.
Speaking on Friday, Hegseth said, “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.”
“Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father’s 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? Iran may not even know,” the war secretary added.
Hegseth also criticised the message issued by the Iranian leader, saying, “He called for unity. Apparently, killing tens of thousands of protesters is his kind of unity.”
Expanding on his remarks, Hegseth said the Iranian leadership sees the United States and Israel as closely aligned against it. “Looking up, the IRGC and Iranian regime see only two things on the side of the aircraft: the Stars and Stripes and the Star of David,” he said. Calling it “the evil regime’s worst nightmare.”
What’s happening in Iran?
Several top Iranian officials joined a defiant pro-government rally in Tehran, meanwhile, marching alongside demonstrators waving banners reading “Death to America” and “Death to Israel.”
As the United States intensified its bombing of Iran, Tehran launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks on Israel and its Gulf neighbours.
The war between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon continued to rage, and the Lebanese health ministry said an Israeli strike on a primary healthcare centre in southern Lebanon had killed at least 12 medical personnel on Friday.
According to the Lebanese authorities, at least 773 people have been killed by Israeli attacks in Lebanon aimed at wiping out Iranian ally Hezbollah.
