US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he believes Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still alive, despite months of uncertainty over his whereabouts and continued speculation about his condition.
Trump made the remarks during a telephone interview with radio host Glenn Beck. Addressing reports about the Iranian leader’s condition, Trump said he did not believe Mojtaba was dead but claimed that he had suffered serious injuries.
The US president also suggested that Iran could be maintaining an elaborate public presentation if Khamenei were no longer alive. “They are putting on a very good show,” Trump said, referring to the possibility that Iranian authorities were concealing his death.
It has been around six months since Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly assumed the position of Iran’s Supreme Leader following the reported assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a joint US-Israeli strike. Since then, his absence from public life has become a major subject of speculation.
However, his absence alone does not establish that he is dead or incapacitated. There has been no independently verified public evidence confirming either claim. Information surrounding his whereabouts and health remains limited, and statements from political figures involved in the conflict may also reflect competing narratives.
Trump’s latest remarks therefore add to, rather than resolve, the uncertainty surrounding Mojtaba Khamenei. While the US president maintains that the Iranian leader is alive but seriously wounded, he has not offered publicly verifiable evidence for the claim.
