United States President, Donald Trump, said he believes the newly appointed Iranian Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father was killed on the first day of the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran, is alive but “damaged.”
Khamenei has not been seen by the Iranian public 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 told Fox News during an interview on The Brian Kilmeade Show. The comments were published by Fox News late Thursday.
In his initial statement, Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and urged neighboring nations to shut U.S. military bases on their soil or face the risk of Iranian retaliation.
The conflict escalated after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28, prompting Iran to respond with strikes against Israel and Gulf countries hosting U.S. bases.
As the war neared its two-week mark, resulting in thousands of deaths and disruptions to financial markets, the leaders of Iran, Israel, and the United States all declared their determination to continue fighting.
