Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei ‘misfunctioning,’ not controlling regime: sources
Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is little more than an “empty entity” who is not at the helm of the regime, according to Israeli national security sources.
The son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a targeted Israeli strike on Feb. 28, is also linked to what officials describe as a “misfunctioning” regime.
“The new leader is an empty entity,” Kobi Michael, a defense analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies and the Misgav Institute, told Fox News Digital.
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“Mojtaba Khamenei does not appear in public, but we also have reliable information that he does not control or lead the regime or what has been left of the regime.
“The current Iranian leadership is broken, confused and is almost misfunctioning.”
Mojtaba reportedly escaped death by minutes when his father was killed Feb. 28, leaving the compound for a walk shortly before an Israeli missile strike, according to leaked audio accessed by The Telegraph.
The audio, reportedly from a March 12 meeting, revealed details about the strikes that also took out several members of the Khamenei family.
Mazaher Hosseini, head of protocol for Khamenei’s office, is supposedly heard in the audio telling senior leaders that Mojtaba sustained “a minor injury to his leg.”
Since being named supreme leader, Mojtaba has not made one public appearance. Instead, a message by him was read on Iranian state TV, warning of continued strikes and urging Gulf nations to shut down U.S. bases.
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Other reports claimed Mojtaba was in critical condition or even in a coma, though Iranian officials have insisted that the new supreme leader is in good health.
Mojtaba Khamenei vowed revenge Wednesday after the killing of senior security official Ali Larijani in an Israeli strike.
“Such acts of terror only reflect the enemies’ hostility and will strengthen the resolve of the Islamic nation. Undoubtedly, justice will be served,” the statement said.
Larijani, one of Iran’s top security figures, was killed after Israeli intelligence reportedly located him and other officials on the outskirts of Tehran.
Other senior figures have also been killed in recent strikes, including Basij militia leader Gholamreza Soleimani, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“This is not a new phase, but a continuing effort and a very successful and impressive one and a crucial component of the strategy meant to weaken the Iranian regime,” Michael said of the continued strikes at regime figures.
“This is to the degree that it will not be able to reconstitute itself and/or to become again a severe threat and destabilizing player in the broader Middle East.”
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After the opening U.S.-Israeli strikes, President Donald Trump told the Iranian people that their “moment of freedom” was at hand.
“When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said, suggesting the U.S. would help bring down the Iranian regime.
“At the very same time, by weakening the regime and paralyzing its capacities generally speaking and its domestic control specifically, the U.S. and Israel are facilitating the required conditions for the Iranian people to topple the regime,” Michael added.
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“This is the ultimate victory in their eyes, and the route to this destination is that they are trying to increase any damage wherever they can.”
Iran’s hidden mountain nuclear site raises urgent threat, must be ‘neutralized’: reports
Iran’s potentially most dangerous nuclear site is buried as deep as 100 meters below a granite mountain, according to new assessments, and one nonproliferation expert warned it must be “neutralized” before the U.S. war with Iran ends.
This came as new figures released Wednesday by U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) show that U.S. and Israeli forces launched Operation Epic Fury in late February and have since struck more than 7,800 targets in Iran as the conflict enters Day 18.
“Before the United States and Israel end major combat operations against Iran, they must complete two urgent tasks,” Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Nonproliferation Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said in a policy briefing.
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“First, they must neutralize Pickaxe Mountain. Second, they must recover or eliminate highly enriched uranium stocks to prevent them from falling into the hands of surviving regime elements, other adversarial states or terrorist proxies.”
High-resolution satellite imagery from mid-February shows Iran’s accelerated efforts to reinforce the site at Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, known as “Pickaxe Mountain,” against potential airstrikes, according to the Institute for Science and International Security.
“At one of the eastern tunnel entrances, rock and soil can be seen pushed back and leveled on top of the tunnel portal,” the institute’s report said.
“Additionally, over the last month, a concrete-reinforced headworks for the tunnel entrance extension was added. This allows for additional overburden in the form of rock, soil or concrete.”
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The report added that “these efforts strengthen the tunnel portals and provide additional protection against an airstrike,” noting visible piles of construction materials near the entrances.
Preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon is one of President Donald Trump’s stated war aims.
In June 2025, U.S. forces carried out strikes against nuclear sites, including Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Iran had roughly 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% as of June 2025, enough material, if further enriched to weapons-grade levels, for multiple nuclear weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Rafael Grossi, its director general, also said March 9 that the U.N. watchdog believes roughly 200 kilograms of Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile are still stored in deep tunnels at a nuclear complex outside Isfahan.
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Grossi added that additional quantities of highly enriched uranium are believed to be at another nuclear center in Natanz, where Iran has constructed a new fortified underground facility at Pickaxe Mountain.
On March 9, Trump pointed to Iran’s efforts to resume nuclear activity at a deeper site and said Tehran has continued pursuing a nuclear weapon “even after we obliterated their key nuclear sites.”
“They were starting work at another site, a different site … that was protected by granite. … They wanted to go a lot deeper, and they started the process,” Trump said, according to reports.
According to Stricker, the “different site” referenced by Trump is Pickaxe Mountain, where Iran has said it has been building a centrifuge assembly plant at the site since 2021. The site is a mile from its Natanz enrichment plant.
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“The size of the facility, as well as the protection provided by the tall mountain, raised immediate concerns about whether additional sensitive activities are planned, such as uranium enrichment,” the Institute for Science and International Security also noted in its report.
At the beginning of March, a vehicle was struck outside the site, presumably by Israel, The Wall Street Journal reported, before suggesting that the vehicle strike was evidence the U.S. and Israel are watching the mountain carefully.
Strikes may set Iran back but likely won’t end nuclear program, UN watchdog chief warns
The United Nations’ nuclear watchdog chief says Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles remain largely in place and its nuclear infrastructure — much of it buried deep underground — cannot be fully eliminated by airstrikes, underscoring the limits of military action.
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog suggested to reporters Wednesday that Iran’s nuclear program is unlikely to be eliminated through military force, warning that ongoing U.S. and Israeli strikes cannot fully dismantle Tehran’s capabilities.
Asked directly whether the program could be resolved militarily, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said he did not believe it could.
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“This program is a very vast program,” Grossi said, describing a network of buildings, expertise and infrastructure built over decades. “At the end of this … the material will still be there, the enrichment capacities will be there.
“We will have to go back to some form of negotiation.”
Grossi emphasized he does not offer military advice, framing his comments as a technical assessment of the program’s scope.
The nuclear inspector said the agency’s assessment is that Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile remains largely where it was prior to the strikes, with most of the material believed to be at the Isfahan nuclear complex and smaller amounts at Natanz.
“Our assumption is that the material is … where it was,” he said.
That reality underscores a broader challenge. Much of Iran’s most sensitive nuclear infrastructure — including storage sites for enriched uranium — is buried deep underground, making it difficult to destroy through airstrikes alone.
While U.S. and Israeli strikes have degraded parts of Iran’s nuclear program, including above-ground facilities and support infrastructure, they have not eliminated the core components of the program.
That assessment aligns with previous reporting on the limits of military action against Iran’s nuclear program. Analysts say highly enriched uranium stored at sites like Isfahan is believed to be kept deep underground in relatively mobile containers, making it difficult to destroy or secure without direct access to the facilities.
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“It’s not even clear the United States knows where all of the uranium is,” Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association, previously told Fox News Digital, noting that the mobility of storage containers raises the possibility that some material could be moved or dispersed.
Iran possessed roughly 441 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% as of mid-2025, enough, if further enriched, to fuel multiple nuclear weapons, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Experts estimate the final step to weapons-grade enrichment could take weeks under ideal conditions, though building a deliverable weapon would require additional time for weaponization and delivery systems.
Grossi also pointed to continued uncertainty surrounding a newly disclosed enrichment facility near Isfahan.
The site is believed to be a newly declared underground enrichment facility where Iran could potentially install centrifuges to produce enriched uranium. Grossi said the International Atomic Energy Agency has not yet inspected the location and does not know whether it is operational, under construction or equipped with nuclear material.
“We know where it is … but we have not been able to go,” he said.
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Grossi said the agency has not been able to access some sites during the conflict and is relying in part on imagery to assess conditions.
The gaps in access highlight the limits of current monitoring. Grossi acknowledged the agency lacks full visibility into some parts of Iran’s program, particularly sites it has not been able to inspect.
UN nuclear chief warns strike near Iran reactor risks crossing ‘reddest line’
The head of the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog warned Wednesday that a projectile strike near Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant risked crossing the “reddest line” of nuclear safety, as fighting between the U.S., Israel and Iran intensifies.
A direct hit on an operating nuclear reactor like Bushehr could trigger a severe radiological incident, even as a recent strike caused no apparent damage to the plant’s core systems, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said.
“An accident on an operating nuclear power plant would be something very, very serious,” Grossi told Fox News Digital Wednesday. “This is the reddest line of all that you have in nuclear safety.”
“The possibility of dispersion in the atmosphere of radioactivity is very high if you get to the core of the reactor,” he added.
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A projectile struck part of the Bushehr nuclear power plant complex in recent days, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, marking the closest known impact on an operating reactor since the conflict began. It remains unclear what caused the strike or who was responsible.
Grossi said the impact appears to have hit a smaller structure within the facility’s broader premises — possibly a laboratory or auxiliary building — and did not affect the reactor itself or cause any reported casualties.
He noted that nuclear power plants are large compounds that include administrative buildings and support infrastructure beyond the reactor itself, increasing the likelihood that a strike could hit the site without directly damaging the core.
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Grossi said the agency has not conducted an on-site inspection, noting that “independent” verification would require being physically present, but said available imagery suggests the damage is not significant.
But he stressed the risks would be far more severe if the reactor were struck.
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Unlike other nuclear facilities, an operating reactor contains a live core undergoing nuclear fission, meaning a direct strike could release large amounts of radioactive material into the environment.
Grossi said there is broad international understanding that nuclear power plants should not be targeted during conflict, even as recent strikes have come dangerously close to sensitive nuclear infrastructure.
Iran blamed the United States and Israel for the strike, though the claim has not been independently verified.
U.S. officials have not confirmed involvement, and Israel’s military said it was not aware of any such strike.
Trey Yingst visits site of Iranian cluster missile attack that killed 2 Israelis
Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst visited the site of an Iranian strike near Tel Aviv that killed at least two civilians and damaged homes. There, he spoke to a neighbor who shared his account of the attack.
Israeli resident Chen Amir told Yingst he heard a loud “boom” that caused a light fixture and glasses in his house to shake. He said he eventually opened his door and saw smoke from the explosion.
Yingst reported from the impact site after the overnight Iranian strike, showing a destroyed apartment in the aftermath of what he described as a cluster munition attack.
Yingst also met an Israeli military official at the scene who said the “cluster bombs” disperse smaller explosives across a wide area, making itdifficult for Israel’s advanced air defense systems to intercept them.
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IDF International Spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said Iran had been firing cluster bombs “since day one of the war” and alleged the weapons were being directed toward civilian population centers.
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“We know this also from intelligence, but also from the type of munitions. The Iranians are purposely targeting civilians, firing these cluster bombs towards the centers of mass populations. These cluster bombs break into dozens of rockets [that] disperse over miles in the center of a large city… causing this damage to civilian houses,” Shoshani said.
New reports signal a fresh wave of strikes against the Iranian regime targeting oil infrastructure, Yingst said.
His account comes as Iran launches retaliatory strikes amid Operation Epic Fury, a U.S. military campaign aiming to eliminate Iran’s offensive and nuclear capabilities.
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The cluster bombs presented a unique challenge for Israeli defenses, Yingst said.
“The threat that we’re facing now, in terms of the population on the ground, when you see this incoming fire — it’s not the precision missiles and the large barrages of dozens of missiles at a time. It’s the cluster munition.”
McConnell claims Joe Kent’s resignation letter contained ‘virulent anti-Semitism’
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky asserted in a post on X that Joe Kent’s resignation letter was tainted by “virulent anti-Semitism.”
Kent posted the resignation letter on Tuesday, announcing that he was stepping down from the role of National Counterterrorism Center director.
“Joe Kent testified before the Senate one year ago that Iran and its terror proxies threatened U.S. servicemembers in the Middle East. He said it would be an honor to return to the fight against terrorism, and he pledged to lead with integrity and accountability,” McConnell declared in the post on X.
“The virulent anti-Semitism of his resignation letter makes it clear that Mr. Kent is incapable of upholding these pledges, and those who mistake its baseless and incendiary conspiracies for brave truth-telling are only fooling themselves. Isolationists and anti-Semites have no place in either party, and certainly do not deserve places of trust in our government,” the senator added.
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Kent explained in the resignation letter that he was leaving the job due to his opposition to the Iran war.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote in the message directed toward President Donald Trump.
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“Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again,” he warned.
“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives,” Kent declared in his resignation letter.
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McConnell, who has served in the U.S. Senate since early 1985, is not seeking another term this year.