Mojtaba Khamenei confirmed lightly wounded in legs on Day 1 — explains absence from public

The New York Times reported, citing Israeli and Iranian officials, that Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in his legs during Israeli-US strikes on the first day of the war (February 28). A senior Israeli official separately told Reuters that Israel's intelligence assessment is that Mojtaba was 'lightly wounded' in the attacks and that this explains why he has not appeared publicly since being named supreme leader. The Iranian president's son subsequently said Mojtaba was 'safe and sound,' the first acknowledgment from the Iranian side that his absence required explanation. The confirmation that Iran's supreme leader has been physically incapacitated since Day 1 is among the most significant political revelations of the war. It means that the highest authority in Iran's theocratic system has been unable to appear publicly, give speeches, or demonstrate leadership continuity for 11 days. Power is effectively being exercised by a committee — IRGC commanders, Ghalibaf, and the broader clerical establishment — without the legitimizing figure of a visible supreme leader. The wounds in his legs suggest he survived but is immobilized, which explains the 'safe and sound' assertion alongside continued public absence.