US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that he believes that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still alive. His remarks come after months of speculation regarding Mojtaba's whereabouts as he has not been seen or photographed even once since taking over the Supreme Leader role following his father Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's assassination in a joint US-Israeli strike.
"I don't think he is dead. He was very seriously wounded. The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing, but I don't think he is dead," Trump said in a telephonic interview with radio host Glenn Beck.
The US President also added that if the Supreme Leader is indeed not alive, “they (Iran) are putting on a very good show.”
Where is Mojtaba Khamenei?
{{/usCountry}}The US President also added that if the Supreme Leader is indeed not alive, “they (Iran) are putting on a very good show.”
Where is Mojtaba Khamenei?
{{/usCountry}}It has been six months since Mojtaba Khamenei became Iran's Supreme Leader. His absence from public life amid the ongoing US-Iran war had fueled speculation that he is either dead or not fully in command.
Officially, Khamenei continues to lead his country under US and Israeli attack.
Recently, Iran's Fars news agency released a rare, undated video of the Supreme Leader in which his voice could purportedly be heard. The video shows the 56-year-old leader listening as a student presents a thesis before offering his assessment of the work.
HT could not independently verify the authenticity of the video.
Earlier this month, reports of his hospitalisation and imminent death surfaced. He had also skipped his father's funeral in July even as Ayatollah's other three sons -- Masoud, Meysam and Mostafa Khamenei -- were seen mourning.
Several reports earlier suggested that Mojtaba Khamenei was in hiding after being critically injured in the February 28 attacks. However, the exact state of his well-being and his whereabouts remain unknown.
Trump says headed to ‘big victory’ on Iran
Donald Trump yet again sang praise of the US military operations against Iran and also said that the economic pressure was working. "Those things are going toward a very big victory," he said. "We're going to have a big victory here very soon."
Trump also insisted that the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran's military has disrupted and to a large extent blocked shipping, is in fact fully open, reported news agency AFP.
"You could really say, you know, because the Strait is open. We take a lot of ships through the Strait now. We're taking them in. The mines are gone," he said.
Iran and Oman are reportedly still working on the details of an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz. Top diplomats of the two countries met to discuss managing commercial shipping traffic in the vital waterway.