WASHINGTON

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "wounded" as the US and Israel continue attacking the country.

"We know the new so-called, not-so-supreme leader is wounded and likely disfigured," Hegseth told a news conference alongside Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Hegseth claimed that Iran's leadership is "in no better shape, desperate and hiding."

"They've gone underground. That's what rats do," he added.