The new leader, who is the son of an ayatollah killed at the start of the US-Israeli strikes, issued his first statement on Thursday since being elected to the role on Sunday. However, he did not appear on the screens, nor could his voice be heard – the text was read by a state television presenter.
“Iran has a lot of cameras and a lot of voice recorders. So why only a written statement? I think you know why,” Hegseth said Friday, according to CNN.
According to him, the new leader is wounded, scared and hiding after the death of his father, the former supreme leader of Iran, Ali Khamenei.
“We know that the new so-called ‘not-so-supreme leader’ is injured and probably disfigured,” said the US Secretary of Defense with an ironic remark.
The statement said, for example, that the Strait of Hormuz should be closed and used as a tool to put pressure on the enemy, or that Iranian strikes on targets in the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf will continue. The new spiritual leader also promised revenge for the killed victims.
Hegseth called the statement “weak”. “There was no voice or video. It was just a written statement,” he added. At the same time, he indicated that the situation in Iran is now chaotic and it is not clear who has the real power.
According to him, the military capabilities of the Iranian regime have significantly weakened in recent days. “With each passing hour, it becomes clearer, to us and to them, that the military capabilities of their malevolent regime are collapsing,” he added.
