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U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he believes Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei is still alive but was “very seriously wounded,” while claiming the war with Iran is moving toward a U.S. victory and could end soon.
Speaking by phone with conservative radio host Glenn Beck, Trump said Khamenei had suffered serious injuries to the left side of his body.
“I don't think he's dead. He was very seriously wounded. The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing,” Trump said. “But I don't think he's dead.”
Khamenei has not appeared publicly since taking power after his father was killed in an airstrike at the start of the U.S.-Israeli assault in February. His absence and the growing influence of veteran Revolutionary Guards figures have fueled speculation over whether he remains fully in command.
Trump again argued that U.S. military and economic pressure on Iran was working.
“Those things are going toward a very big victory,” he said. “We're going to have a big victory here very soon.”
He also said he believed the conflict would end soon, adding that the U.S. was close to achieving its objectives over the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon remained Washington’s main goal.
“We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That's what it's all about. That's 99.9%,” he said, adding that he had already “stopped it twice.”
Trump said the U.S. Navy had full control of the Strait of Hormuz and claimed all mines in the waterway had been cleared as of Tuesday.
“The Strait is open. We take a lot of ships through the Strait now. We're taking them in. The mines are gone,” he said.
Trump also claimed that 22 boats were destroyed overnight, that some vessels had broken through the blockade and that 10 million barrels of oil passed through the strait Tuesday.
He further said only ships permitted by the U.S. could now pass through the waterway.
Iranian forces have disrupted and largely blocked shipping through Hormuz during the conflict, while Trump has repeatedly said Washington now controls the strategic route.
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