Iran’s Leadership Underground, Supreme Leader Wounded

Trump to Decide When War Ends — HegsethUS General: Downed Aircraft in Iraq Was Not Enemy Fire

Washington / Tehran, March 13, 2026: US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared at a Pentagon press briefing that Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has been wounded and likely disfigured in US-Israeli strikes, while describing the Iranian leadership as desperate and in hiding.
Hegseth told reporters that the US knew the “new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured,” pointing to Khamenei’s first public statement — delivered as a written message read on Iranian state television with no video or audio from the leader himself — as evidence of his weakened condition.  (Military Times)
Hegseth said Iran’s missile launch capability has been reduced by 90% and its drone capability by 95%.  (Axios) He added that the decision on when the war ends rests entirely with President Donald Trump.
The Pentagon chief said the US and Israel have struck over 15,000 Iranian targets since February 28, adding that Iran’s missile production lines, military plants, and defense innovation centers have been destroyed, leaving the country firing only from existing stockpiles with no ability to replenish them.  (Al Jazeera)
However, Hegseth provided no evidence for his claims about Khamenei’s condition, and Iran has not given any details. Earlier on Friday, Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and top security official Ali Larijani were publicly seen at a large al-Quds Day demonstration in Tehran.  (Yahoo!)
Regarding a US aircraft that went down in Iraq, General Dan Caine confirmed it was not brought down by enemy action. He cautioned that the overall mission “remains complex, dangerous and difficult — and every service member has a family waiting for them to return home.”  (Military Times)