Nigeria: Trump says Iran’s new supreme leader alive but ‘damaged’

By Zuleihat Owuiye, Mamos Nigeria

US President Donald Trump believes that Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose father was killed on the first day of the US and Israel’s war on Iran, is alive but “damaged”. Khamenei has not been seen publicly since his selection by a clerical assembly on Sunday, and his first comments were read out by a television presenter on Thursday.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump stated, “I think he probably is (alive). I think he is damaged, but I think he’s probably alive in some form.” Khamenei has vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and called on neighboring countries to close US bases on their territory or risk Iran targeting them.

The US and Israel began attacks on Iran on February 28, and Iran has responded with strikes on Israel and Gulf countries with US bases. As the war approaches its two-week mark, leaders of Iran, Israel, and the US have voiced defiance and vowed to fight on.