Donald Trump said Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, was ‘damaged but probably alive’, as reports suggested he was critically injured in the airstrike that killed his father.
Amid mounting speculation over the condition of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he believes the leader is still alive but may have suffered serious injuries.
Speaking to Fox News Radio, when asked whether he believes Mojtaba — who assumed leadership after his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in US-Israel strikes — is alive, Trump said, “I think he probably is.”
“I think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, you know,” Trump added at the Brian Kilmeade Show.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since the start of the war, fuelling speculation about his health and his ability to lead Iran during the ongoing conflict.
The US President’s remarks came amid reports suggesting that the new leader may have been seriously wounded in the airstrike that killed his father on February 28. According to a report by The Sun, the 56-year-old cleric is in a coma and lost at least one leg after being critically injured in the attack.
Sources cited by the publication claimed Khamenei “lost at least one leg and has also suffered serious stomach or liver damage.” The report said he is being treated under heavy security at Sina University Hospital in Tehran.
“One or two of his legs have been cut off. His liver or stomach has also ruptured. He is apparently in a coma as well,” a source told the newspaper.
Iranian officials have also acknowledged that Mojtaba Khamenei was injured in the attack but said he is safe and recovering. Tehran’s ambassador to Cyprus confirmed to The Guardian that he sustained injuries in the strike and described him as fortunate to have survived the bombardment.
The diplomat, Alireza Salarian, said, “I have heard that he was injured in his legs and hand and arm I think he is in the hospital because he is injured.”
Explaining why the 56-year-old cleric had not appeared in public or made any statements since he succeeded his father on Sunday, he added, “I don’t think he is comfortable (in any condition) to give a speech.”
Iranian state television has attempted to show continuity in leadership by broadcasting what it described as Khamenei’s first statement since taking power.
In the statement, broadcast on Iranian state television and read by a news presenter rather than the leader himself, Khamenei warned that Iran would avenge the deaths of those killed in the conflict and threatened action against US military installations in the region.
“All US bases should be immediately closed in the region, otherwise they will be attacked,” Khamenei said.
