Secretary of War Pete Hegseth suggested Friday morning that U.S. forces have mostly destroyed Iran’s leadership and military.

“Desperate and hiding, they’ve gone underground, cowering,” Hegseth said of Iran’s leaders. “That’s what rats do. We know the new so-called not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured.”

Iranian leadership selected Mojtaba Khamenei to be the country’s new supreme leader after the assassination of his father, Ali Khamenei, at the start of the joint Israeli-American operation on Feb. 28. 

BREAKING: Iran’s new supreme leader is ‘wounded and likely disfigured’, defence secretary Pete Hegseth has claimed.

“There was no voice, and there was no video. It was a written statement.

“Why a written statement? I think you know why.”https://t.co/JWS2VY0dRV

? Sky 501 pic.twitter.com/cF3umJous3

— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 13, 2026

“He put out a statement yesterday—a weak one, actually,” said Hegseth of Khamenei. “But there was no voice and there was no video. It was a written statement.”

On Thursday, Iranian media released a statement from Khamenei in which he pledged to continue to attempt to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major chokepoint for the global oil trade, and to avenge “martyrs” killed in the conflict.

Hegseth suggested the reason for Khamenei releasing a written statement, saying, “Iran has plenty of cameras and plenty of voice recorders. Why a written statement? I think you know why. His father, dead. He’s scared, he’s injured, he’s on the run, and he lacks legitimacy. It’s a mess for them.”

Hegseth also claimed that the operation has inflicted severe losses on Iran’s military and degraded its ability to produce more weapons.

“Iran has no air defenses, Iran has no air force, Iran has no navy. Their missiles, their missile launchers, and drones being destroyed or shot out of the sky,” he said.

Hegseth dismissed Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz as a minor obstacle.

“They are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz,” Hegseth said. “We have been dealing with it and [you] don’t need to worry about it.”

Amid uncertainty in the global markets due to shipping lane disruptions, prices of gas have surged in the United States.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the Strait of Hormuz remains open for transit but accuses Iran of threatening commercial shipping, adding that the US has plans for every possible scenario. pic.twitter.com/LY0BNpgoZ7

— Al Arabiya English (@AlArabiya_Eng) March 13, 2026

As of Friday, the average price per gallon of regular gas was $3.63 in the United States, per AAA. One month ago, it was $2.94.

Hegseth added of the Strait of Hormuz, “That’s not a strait we’re going to allow to remain contested or with a lack of flow of commercial goods … [we] want to make sure our partners across this government understand we’re working with you to make sure that energy flows.”