US President Donald Trump on Saturday raised doubts about whether Iran’s newly appointed supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive after he failed to appear publicly to deliver his first statement since assuming leadership.
The remarks came after Khamenei issued a written message on Thursday instead of appearing on camera. In the statement, the son of slain former supreme leader Ali Khamenei pledged to continue blocking the Strait of Hormuz and targeting US allies in the region.
Speaking by phone on Saturday, Trump questioned the absence of a public appearance by the new leader.
“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” Trump said.
“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 added, but called the news of his death “a rumor.”
Meanwhile, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Friday that the younger Khamenei had been injured. He said Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured” and described the written message as a “weak one.”
“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 added.
Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s new supreme leader earlier this week after initial US and Israeli strikes killed his father a week earlier.
When asked whether he supported any specific Iranian figure to take over the country’s leadership, Trump declined to name anyone.
“We have people that are living that would be great leaders for the future of the country,” he said.
Asked if he was in contact with any potential leaders, Trump responded: “I don’t want to say that. I don’t want to put them in jeopardy.”
