Trump (Image: Getty)
US President Donald Trump has issued an update on the new supreme leader of Iran amid reports he is severely injured.
Asked what his advisers are telling him about Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, Mr Trump said the new leader in Tehran could even be dead. “I’m hearing he’s not alive,” he said, “and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that’s surrender,” he addded.
Speaking during a conference at the White House, Mr Trump said: “We don’t know…if he’s dead or not,” Trump told reporters at the White House. A lot of people are saying that he’s badly disfigured. They’re saying that he lost his leg, one leg, and he’s, you know, been hurt very badly. Other people are saying he’s dead. Nobody’s saying he’s 100% healthy. You know he hasn’t spoken.”
“We don’t know who we’re dealing with” in Iran, Trump said. “We don’t know who their leader is.”
Rumours have spread recently regarding Khamenei’s health conditions. Initial reports suggested he was in a coma, while other indicated he had one of his legs amputated. Other rumours also suggested he had been transferred to Moscow for treatment.
Mr Trump previously said about Khamenei “I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” while US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth claimed on Friday that the son of Ali Khamenei was “wounded and likely disfigured“.
Read more: Trump issues health update on Iran leader Mojtaba Khamenei after he ‘lost leg’
Read more: Trump says ‘nobody’s been able to show’ Khamenei as mystery surrounds leader
There have been conflicting reports about Mojtaba Khamenei’s health. (Image: Getty)
The first doubts regarding the Supreme Leader’s health spread when Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first statement last week, but the speech was read by a news anchor and he did not appear on camera.
Yesterday (March 15), Kuwait newspaper Al-Jarida newspaper had quoted an Iranian source close to the Supreme Leader as saying that Mojtaba had been transferred to Russia for treatment and that he might return as soon as his condition improved.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, however, when asked on Monday if there was any truth to these reports, he did not confirm or deny the speculation and only said “we do not comment on such reports”.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, however, said in press statements published yesterday, that the Iranian Supreme Leader is “in good health and fully in control of the situation”.
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In his statement, shared by Iranian state news outlet ISNA on X, Araghchi didn’t immediately provide any evidence supporting the health condition of the country’s leader.
He also said Tehran is prepared to form a committee with regional countries to investigate the recent attacks and clarify which targets were struck.
The senior official also claimed that Iran’s military operations are aimed exclusively at US bases and interests in the region and, so far, no civilian or residential areas in neighbouring countries have been targeted.
