President Trump believes Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “probably alive” but may have been wounded during Operation Epic Fury.
“I think he probably is. I think he’s damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form,” Trump said in an interview with Fox News Radio host Brian Kilmeade.
Khamenei has not made any public appearances, nor has the Iranian regime released any new images of him, since his appointment as supreme leader earlier this week, following the death of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Reports citing Iranian sources claim Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded during the Feb. 28 airstrike that took out his father and wife.
Khamenei is allegedly in a coma, may have lost both legs and suffered extensive internal injuries as well, one source told The Sun.
Another source insisted the cleric only suffered minor injuries — including a fractured foot, bruised eye, and facial lacerations during the initial wave of airstrikes.
Khamenei, 56, vowed to close the Strait of Hormuz and avenge the death of his father, as well as “every member of the nation who is martyred by the enemy,” in his first statement as supreme leader.
The lengthy message was read out on Iranian state TV by an anchor Thursday as an image of Khamenei was displayed on screen.
“Well, they’ve been doing a lot of talking, so he’s going to have to put up,” Trump said of the new leader’s message during his appearance on “The Brian Kilmeade Show.”
“We’ll have to see because we are decimating them,” the president continued. “We’ve knocked out most of their missiles. We’ve knocked out many of their drones. We knocked out a lot of the manufacturing areas where they manufacture the missiles and now the drones.
“We’re hitting them harder than anybody’s been hit since World War II.”
Trump’s full interview on the program will air Friday at 10 a.m.
