Trump: Motjaba Khamenei May be Dead
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” Trump said of Mojtaba Khamenei. The President added that it remains unclear whether the Iranian leader is still living.
US President Donald Trump said Iran must surrender to end the war and suggested that the country’s newly appointed supreme leader may already be dead.
“I’m hearing he’s not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” Trump said of Mojtaba Khamenei.
Trump added that it remains unclear whether the Iranian leader is still living.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” he said.
Khamenei has not appeared publicly since being appointed supreme leader following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during the opening strikes of the war.
Iranian officials have said the younger Khamenei was injured during the initial attacks but remains in command, though no video or public appearance has been released since his appointment.
Trump’s comments come as the war between the United States, Israel and Iran continues into its third week, with ongoing strikes across Iranian territory and retaliatory missile launches across the region.