The President of the United States Donald Trump expressed doubt whether the new Supreme Leader of Iran is alive. He said at the White House on 16 March.
“We don’t know… He’s dead or not. I will say that nobody has seen him, which is unusual,” Trump said of the newly appointed Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
According to Trump, “a lot of people” claim that Iran’s spiritual leader is allegedly badly disfigured:
“They say he’s lost a leg … And he’s very badly injured. Other people say he’s dead.”
Trump also said Iran had allegedly expressed interest in talks, but suggested the country’s leadership remained disorganised because of the US-Israeli attacks. He said the strikes have hit more than 7,000 targets, destroyed more than 100 Iranian military vessels and significantly reduced Tehran’s ability to launch missiles and drones since 28 February.
“We don’t know who their leader is. We have people (from Iran – ed.) who want to negotiate. We have no idea who they are,” the US president said.
Khamenei, 56, has not appeared in public and US Defence Secretary Pete Hagseth last week said he may have been injured in strikes on Iran.
Trump repeated his call for other countries to join in securing shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and criticised Britain’s reluctance to provide that support. He said he was “displeased” with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has said he wants a “viable” option to reopen the strait. At the same time, Trump noted that he believes in the United Kingdom’s involvement.
Read also: nobody wants to get involved in a war: Callas on the possibility of an EU military mission in the Strait of Hormuz
On 14 March, Trump expressed hope that China, France, Japan, South Korea, the UK and other countries would send warships to the area of the Strait of Hormuz so that the passage of ships through it would be safe.
Instead, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said his country would send warships to ensure security in the Strait of Hormuz at Trump’s urging. According to The Telegraph, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is also refusing to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz at Trump’s call.
In an interview with the Financial Times made public on 16 March, Trump warned that NATO faces a “very bad” future if alliance member states do not help open the critical Strait of Hormuz, an oil transport route that Iran has effectively closed amid a war with the United States and Israel.