Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has been invisible since his appointment last weekend, probably because he was wounded at the start of the war, but also because he represents a priority target for the United States and Israel.

The new Iranian head of state is "safe and sound," President Massoud Pezeshkian's son said Wednesday on his Telegram account.

This statement was the first declaration by an Iranian official as speculation has continued to mount in recent days about the fate of Mojtaba Khamenei.

He has not appeared in public or spoken to the media since being elected on Sunday to succeed his father, Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 on the first day of the war.

"I heard the reports that Mr. Mojtaba Khamenei had been injured. I asked some friends who have connections. They told me that, thank God, he was safe and sound," wrote Yousef Pezeshkian, who is also a government advisor.

The 56-year-old cleric was reportedly injured during the raid that killed his father, as well as his mother and wife.

"He was there too and he was wounded in the bombing," Alireza Salarian, the Iranian ambassador to Nicosia, told the British newspaper The Guardian. "I heard he was wounded in the legs, hand, and arm," he said, adding, "I don't think he's in any condition to give a speech."

Iranian state television presented Mojtaba Khamenei as a "wounded veteran of the Ramadan war" without giving details, referring to the conflict that erupted during the holy month of Muslim fasting.

- "In a bunker" -

Even though he remains out of sight, the face of the new leader is displayed on numerous signs and banners in the streets of Tehran, AFP journalists observed. One of them shows him symbolically receiving the national flag from his father Ali, under the gaze of the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ruhollah Khomeini.

Thousands of pro-government supporters also chanted his name at rallies held in central Tehran, such as the one held Wednesday for the funerals of officials killed in the strikes.

But the cries of "Death to Mojtaba!", shouted in the night by anonymous people from their windows, also highlight the opposition of many Iranians.

Mojtaba Khamenei is considered a conservative due to his close ties with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological army of the Islamic Republic. He is portrayed as one of those responsible for the crackdown on waves of anti-government protests since 2009.

On social media, Iranians are asking, often in a mocking tone: "where is he?", speculating about where he might be hiding to escape the bombs.

Emile Hokayem, of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, said he expected him to "remain in a bunker for a very long time because he saw what happened to his father, his wife, his mother, all killed."

"Eliminating it quickly is certainly an Israeli priority. Because if it survives, it becomes a totem, a testament to the resilience of the system," according to this expert.

In the meantime, power is personalized by other leaders such as the head of national security Ali Larijani or the Speaker of Parliament Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

Before his election on Sunday, US President Donald Trump warned that Mojtaba Khamenei would be "unacceptable" as supreme leader. "If he doesn't get our approval, he won't last long," he warned.