Trump: Iran’s supreme leader either dead or disfigured

The United States cannot confirm whether Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is dead or seriously injured, says President Trump.

By World Israel News Staff

The condition of Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is difficult to ascertain, President Donald Trump said Monday, while adding that it appears that the 56-year-old Shi’ite cleric did not escape unscathed from the airstrikes that targeted Iran’s leadership.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said that there have been conflicting reports regarding the younger Khamenei’s condition, but emphasized that it appears Khamenei was at the very least injured in the February 28 strikes which killed his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“A lot of people are saying that he is badly disfigured,” said Trump. “They’re saying that he lost his leg, one leg, and that he has been hurt very badly. Other people are saying that he is dead. Nobody is saying that he is 100% healthy.”

Since taking power on March 8, replacing his father as the head of state of Iran, Mojtaba has remained out of sight, making no public appearances either in person or on video, fueling speculation that he was either killed or seriously wounded.

“He hasn’t spoken. The ayatollah would sit and he’d spew hate from a form of a thrown,” Trump continued. “He’d spew hate from his chair, but you’d see him a lot, right? This one we haven’t seen at all. That could be for a lot of different reasons.”

“We don’t know if…if he is dead or not. I will say this: Nobody has seen him, which is unusual.”

Trump said the lack of certainty regarding Khamenei’s condition and the status of Iran’s leadership has complicated US attempts to respond to Iranian overtures for peace talks.

“We don’t know who ⁠their ​leader is. We have people ​wanting to negotiate. We have no idea who they are,” Trump said.