Iran's newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued a defiant vow on state television on Thursday evening to avenge the deaths of Iranians killed in the ongoing war with the United States and Israel, even as unverified reports swirl that he lies in a coma, having lost at least one leg in airstrikes.
The 56-year-old cleric's message, read aloud by a presenter rather than delivered in person, came on 12 March 2026, just days after his elevation following the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on 28 February.
