US President Donald Trump said today that he does not believe Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is dead, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
"I don't think he's dead. "He was very badly wounded," Trump said on the show of conservative political commentator Glenn Beck.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and successor of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, took office after the death of his father, who was killed on the first day of the war that began on February 28 after Israeli-American strikes on Iran.
According to the authorities in Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded during the offensive, which also killed a number of other high-ranking representatives of the Iranian leadership. He has not made any public appearances since his appointment, and his positions are only communicated through official messages.
Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian said a few days ago that communication with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since taking office in March, is "very difficult at the moment", reported Agence France-Presse.
"Communication with him is very difficult at the moment, but his presence is nevertheless a great advantage for us, which allows us to continue", Pezeshkian said in a televised address.
Mojtaba Khamenei – son and successor of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, took office after the death of his father, who was killed on the first day of the war that began on February 28 after Israeli-American strikes on Iran.
According to Iranian authorities, Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded during the offensive, which also killed a number of other high-ranking members of the Iranian leadership. He has not made any public appearances since his appointment, and his positions are disseminated only through official statements.
His prolonged absence from the public sphere, including since his father's funeral in July, has sparked speculation about his health, his relations with other Iranian leaders, and even suggestions that he was assassinated.
Pezeshkian rejected such claims and defended the Supreme Leader. "During our meetings, he greeted me with courtesy and very solid logic," the president said.
"Unfortunately, the current situation allows malicious people to present him in a different way and create a wrong impression about him," he added.