President Donald Trump said he believes Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is alive but “damaged,” amid ongoing US and Israeli military strikes on Iran.
Khamenei, whose father the former Supreme Leader was killed on the first day of the US and Israel’s campaign against Iran, has not been publicly seen by Iranians since his selection on Sunday by a clerical assembly. His first remarks were read aloud by a television presenter on Thursday.
“I think he probably is [alive]. I think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form, you know,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ The Brian Kilmeade Show. The comments were published by Fox News late Thursday.
In his first public statements, Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and called on neighboring countries to remove US bases from their territory, warning that Iran could target them if they failed to comply.
The US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28. Iran has responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf countries hosting US military bases.
As the conflict nears its two-week mark, killing thousands and unsettling financial markets, the leaders of Iran, Israel, and the United States have all expressed defiance and pledged to continue fighting.
