TEHRAN/BERLIN/WASHINGTON/MOSCOW/COLOMBO – Iran’s new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “safe and sound,” said Yousef Pezeshkian, son of Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, on Wednesday.
Some friends who “had connections” had told him this, said Pezeshkian in a post on his Telegram channel.
Earlier media reports had said that Khamenei was injured in the joint US-Israel strikes on Iran.
“I heard news about Mr Mojtaba having been wounded. I asked friends who had contacts. They said that ‘thank God he is healthy and there is no problem,'” said Pezeshkian.
On Feb 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and several other Iranian cities, killing Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, along with senior military commanders and civilians. Iran responded by launching waves of missile and drone strikes targeting Israeli and US assets in the Middle East.
Iran’s Assembly of Experts appointed Mojtaba Khamenei on Sunday, the late leader’s son, as the new leader of Iran.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that there is “clearly no joint plan” to bring a swift and convincing end to the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran.
The war has lasted for more than a week, and “more problems are arising,” Merz said at a joint press conference with visiting Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis.
Merz said that the war would affect the security and energy supply of Germany and Europe, as well as the migration situation.
The war would not bring lasting security and stability to Israel and other regional partners, nor would it serve the interests of the Iranian people, Merz said, adding that the world needs a stable and viable Iran as part of a regional peace and security order.
Drone attacks
Iran’s army said Tuesday its forces used suicide drones to strike a weapons manufacturing facility and a satellite intelligence reception center in Israel’s Haifa earlier in the day.
In a statement, the army said the targeted military facility played a key role in weapons production and was of strategic importance to Israel’s combat capabilities. The satellite data center, it claimed, was critical to collecting military and intelligence data and had played a coordinating role in managing Israel’s reconnaissance satellite operations.
140 US troops wounded
Also on Tuesday, a Pentagon spokesman said that about 140 US troops have been wounded, including eight seriously injured since the United States and Israel launched joint military attacks on Iran on Feb 28.
“The vast majority of these injuries have been minor, and 108 service members have already returned to duty. Eight service members remain listed as severely injured and are receiving the highest level of medical care,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
Putin, Iranian president phone talk
Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone conversation Tuesday with President Pezeshkian to discuss the situation in the Middle East, the Kremlin said in a statement.
According to the Kremlin, the two leaders continued exchanging views on regional developments in connection with the Israeli-US aggression against Iran.
Putin reaffirmed Russia’s principled position in favor of a swift de-escalation of the conflict and resolving it through political means, the statement said.
Pezeshkian, for his part, thanked Russia for its support, including humanitarian assistance provided to Iran, it said.
‘An eye for an eye’
Iran’s military said on Wednesday it will launch strikes against US and Israeli economic targets in the region, after overnight attacks reportedly hit an Iranian bank.
A joint US-Israeli strike hit a bank in the Iranian capital city of Tehran overnight, leaving one person killed, according to Iranian media.
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warned Tuesday that Iran will take “proportionate and immediate” responses if the United States begins attacks on Iran’s infrastructure.
In a post on social media platform X, Ghalibaf said Iran will go by the rule of “an eye for an eye” without any exception.
“If they start the war of infrastructure, we will undoubtedly target infrastructure,” he said.
US strike on the Iranian warship
Sri Lanka was not informed in advance about a US strike on the Iranian warship, IRIS Dena, in the seas near the island nation’s maritime boundary, a cabinet spokesman said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the weekly cabinet media briefing, Minister of Health and Mass Media Nalinda Jayatissa said Sri Lanka’s Navy responded as soon as possible when they were made aware of the incident.
Jayatissa said he is not aware who first alerted Sri Lankan authorities of the incident. He said 32 people were rescued alive, of whom 10 are still receiving treatment.
On Wednesday, a Sri Lankan court ordered the release of the bodies of 87 Iranian sailors recovered from a sunken warship to officials of the Iranian Embassy in Colombo.