Khamenei calls for enemies' 'security to be voided' — US and Israeli officials say new Supreme Leader may have been wounded

Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement on Day 21 calling for Iran's enemies to have their 'security taken away.' The statement was addressed to President Masoud Pezeshkian offering condolences after Israel killed Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib (Day 19, March 18 overnight strike). Khamenei said the Intelligence Ministry 'should respond by voiding the security of Iran's internal and external enemies.' The framing simultaneously threatens foreign adversaries and designates domestic opponents as enemies — consistent with the IRGC's hardline posture under the new leadership. Separately, American and Israeli officials have suggested that Mojtaba Khamenei 'was hurt in the war.' He has not been seen publicly since being named as supreme leader succeeding his father, 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike on Day 1 (February 28). His absence from public view and the suggestion of injury raises questions about the stability of Iran's political-military command at the top. This is Khamenei's second known public statement — his first was the Day 14 Hormuz ultimatum. Both statements have been issued in writing through proxies rather than in person.