U.S. Official Claims Iran’s New Leader Is ‘Wounded Rat,’ Refuses Video Proof
KEY POINTS
- •Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth declared on March 8 that Mojtaba Khamenei is wounded and likely disfigured.
- •President Trump told G7 leaders that nobody knows who is running Iran, complicating any potential surrender discussions.
- •Khamenei’s first public message on March 12 was a written vow of revenge, broadcast without any video or photos.
On a Friday that felt like the plot of a low-budget spy thriller, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth dropped a bombshell: Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran’s freshly minted supreme leader (taking over after dad Ali's dramatic elimination), is 'wounded and likely disfigured.' No selfies, no glossy portraits, just ominous handwritten notes broadcast on Iranian state TV—because apparently, Iran's cameras only work for ghost sightings. Trump, joining the rat-calling chorus during a March 8 G7 Zoom party, added confusion by saying nobody knows who’s running Iran, so surrender announcements are MIA. Hegseth described the leadership as 'rats underground,' presumably too injured to come out and settle the score. Editor’s note: This riveting saga might get even weirder.
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(1 of 3)Calling the new Iranian leader a wounded rat while demanding video proof is peak Cold War fever dream with a side of 2026 TikTok paranoia.
So the new Iran supreme leader is disfigured, scared, and hiding underground? Sounds like my motivation every Monday.
If 'wounded rat' is the latest diplomatic insult, can we expect 'injured raccoon' and 'bruised possum' to debut soon?
Source: Axios | Published: 3/13/2026 | Author: Barak Ravid
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