Trump says he is ‘hearing’ Iran’s new supreme leader is ‘not alive’
Donald Trump has said he doesn’t know if Iran’s newly chosen supreme leader is still alive – but added he is ‘hearing he’s not’.
Mojtaba Khamenei was selected to replace his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the top role last week after the US and Israel carried out a targeted assassination at the beginning of the war.
But he has still not made a public appearance, and did not appear on camera to issue his first message of vengeance on Thursday.
Instead, state media published a written statement, saying: ‘I assure everyone that we will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs.’
It is believed the younger Khamenei sustained injuries in the blast that killed his father and much of his family, but the extent of them is unknown.
Reports range from a fractured foot and minor lacerations to his face, to the loss of a leg or even Khamenei being placed in a coma.
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In a new interview with NBC News, President Trump suggested the picture could be substantially more serious.
He told the US outlet: ‘I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him.’
The President added: ‘I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender.’
However, he also described news of the new supreme leader’s death as a ‘rumour’.
Iran may also be reluctant to reveal the whereabouts of its leader following repeated threats from Israel that he will be killed like his father.
Before Khamenei was chosen, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said ‘every leader’ appointed to lead the regime ‘will be an unequivocal target for elimination’.
In a press conference on Friday, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested the demise of his father was behind the new leader’s decision not to appear in public.
He said: ‘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.’
Hegseth also said the younger Khamenei was ‘wounded and likely disfigured’ following the US and Israeli military action.
Asked if he had a preference for who might replace Khamenei, Trump said in the new interview: ‘We have people that are living that would be great leaders for the future of the country.’
He also declined to say if he was in touch with any possible future leaders, saying: ‘I don’t want to put them in jeopardy.’
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