Trump: US Unsure if New Iranian Leader Is Alive

President Trump says the US isn't sure whether Iran's new supreme leader is even alive. Speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, the president said his administration has conflicting information about Mojtaba Khamenei's condition. "I mean, a lot of people are saying that he's badly disfigured—they're saying that he lost his leg, one leg, and he's, you know, been hurt very badly, other people are saying he's dead, nobody's saying he's 100% healthy," Trump said, per CNN. Trump contrasted Mojtaba with his late father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, noting the elder leader regularly appeared in public and delivered hostile rhetoric.

"He'd spew hate from a form of a throne, not as nice as a throne, I like the English throne much better," Trump said, per the Telegraph. "It was a fancy chair, but he'd spew hate from his chair. But you'd see him a lot, right? This one we haven't seen at all, so that could be for a lot of different reasons. We don't know if he's dead or not." Last week, Trump declined to answer when a reporter asked him if the new leader "has a target on his back." On Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran's leadership is "desperate and hiding," adding that Khamenei is "wounded and likely disfigured."