Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters the Iranian leader was wounded during ongoing operations as officials say military pressure on Tehran has intensified.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday that Iran’s new supreme leader was wounded during recent U.S. and Israeli military operations, telling reporters the leader may also have been disfigured as strikes against Iranian military targets continue.
During a Pentagon press conference streamed on C-SPAN, Hegseth said Mojtaba Khamenei had likely been injured amid the sustained campaign targeting Iranian military capabilities.
“We know the new so-called not so supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured,” Hegseth said, noting the absence of public video or voice messages from Khamenei since the strikes began.
He also told reporters that all six crew members aboard a U.S. military refuelling aircraft have been confirmed dead after it crashed in western Iraq, U.S. Central Command said on Friday. CENTCOM ruled out the cause of the crash as either hostile fire or friendly fire. The identities of the deceased service members are being withheld until next of kin have been notified.
Hegseth described Iran’s leadership as struggling to maintain communication while facing continued military pressure.
According to the defense secretary, the Iranian government is “desperate and hiding,” adding that the regime is facing difficulty coordinating military operations.
The briefing came as the United States and Israel continued joint operations targeting Iranian military infrastructure as part of what officials have described as a limited campaign aimed at degrading Tehran’s military capabilities.
Hegseth appeared alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan “Razin” Caine, who said the ongoing operation—referred to by the Pentagon as “Operation Epic Fury”—had entered its thirteenth day.
Caine said the campaign’s objectives remain focused on several military targets: dismantling Iran’s missile capabilities, weakening its defense industrial base, reducing naval power and preventing the country from obtaining nuclear weapons.
According to Hegseth, U.S. and Israeli operations have already significantly degraded Iran’s military assets.
He said Iranian air defenses have largely been neutralized, the country’s air force is no longer operational and naval forces have been heavily damaged.
Missile and drone launches from Iran have also declined sharply as allied forces continue targeting launch sites, storage depots, production facilities and command centers, he said.
Caine echoed that assessment, saying American forces have conducted precision strikes from multiple domains.
He said U.S. artillery units have deployed advanced missile systems to strike targets deep within Iranian territory and have sunk several Iranian vessels involved in military operations.
The Pentagon also emphasized that the current mission is narrowly defined and not intended to evolve into a broader military occupation.
Hegseth said President Donald Trump has kept the objectives limited to specific national security goals rather than broader nation-building efforts.
“We’ve defined these objectives. We’re pursuing those objectives,” Hegseth said, responding to questions about whether the conflict could escalate further.
He added that the administration believes the campaign is achieving its goals and that Iran’s military capacity is continuing to decline while U.S. and allied forces maintain operational momentum.
The briefing came one day after a U.S. KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft crashed in western Iraq during a combat mission linked to the conflict.
Caine said the incident was not caused by hostile or friendly fire. Reporting by the Associated Press indicated that four of the six crew members aboard the aircraft had been confirmed dead while recovery operations continued for the remaining personnel.
At the same time, U.S. intelligence officials are closely monitoring developments in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has begun deploying naval mines in an apparent effort to disrupt maritime traffic.
According to reporting by The New York Times, U.S. intelligence believes Iranian forces began laying mines Thursday using small boats after American strikes destroyed larger naval vessels previously used for mine deployment.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps maintains hundreds of smaller craft capable of quickly placing mines in the narrow waterway.
Iran announced shortly after U.S. and Israeli strikes began Feb. 28 that it intended to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic shipping corridor through which roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil supply passes.
A senior Revolutionary Guard official said March 2 that the strait had been closed and warned that Iranian forces would “set those ships ablaze,” according to Iranian state media.
Several vessels operating in the region have been struck in recent days. Iranian authorities have claimed responsibility for some of the incidents.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi denied Tuesday that the country was placing mines in the waterway.
However, in his first public statement since the war began, Mojtaba Khamenei said Thursday that “the lever of blocking the Strait of Hormuz must continue to be used.”
U.S. officials say the use of smaller boats to deploy mines is slower and less efficient than the larger vessels previously used by Iran, but intelligence assessments indicate Tehran may be attempting to place mines faster than American forces can remove them.
The activity has become a major focus for U.S. military and intelligence agencies as officials work to keep commercial shipping routes open.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly warned Iran against interfering with maritime traffic through the strait.
In a message posted on social media Monday, Trump said the United States would strike Iran “twenty times harder” if Tehran blocked oil shipments through the passage.
He issued another warning Tuesday, writing that “If Iran has put out any mines in the Hormuz Strait, and we have no reports of them doing so, we want them removed, IMMEDIATELY!”
U.S. officials say American forces have already targeted multiple Iranian vessels believed capable of laying mines.
Naval mines previously placed in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s caused significant damage to commercial ships and disrupted maritime traffic.
Today, the Strait of Hormuz remains one of the most critical global energy corridors, carrying roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply through the narrow channel between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.
In addition to potential mine deployment, regional security officials say Iran has used other tactics to threaten shipping.
On Wednesday, projectiles struck three commercial vessels operating in the region, heightening concerns that continued attacks could disrupt global energy markets and international shipping routes as the conflict continues.
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