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U.S. President Donald Trump stated that he believes Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive but "damaged," after reports that Khamenei was injured during the U.S. and Israel’s war on Iran.
"I think he probably is. I think he is damaged, but I think he's probably alive in some form, you know," Trump said in an interview on Fox News' "The Brian Kilmeade Show."
Fox News published his remarks late Thursday, and the interview was scheduled to air Friday at 10:06 a.m. ET.
Khamenei has not been seen publicly by Iranians since his selection by a clerical assembly, and his first comments were read by a television presenter on Thursday. An Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that the new supreme leader was lightly injured but still operating, after Iranian state television described him as war-wounded.
The statement came as the war between Iran, the United States and Israel neared the two-week mark, with the conflict killing thousands and shaking financial markets.
Trump had stronger words for Iran's leaders early Friday.
In a post on his Truth Social, he stated that, "We are totally destroying the terrorist regime of Iran, militarily, economically, and otherwise, yet, if you read the Failing New York Times, you would incorrectly think that we are not winning. Iran’s Navy is gone, their Air Force is no longer, missiles, drones and everything else are being decimated, and their leaders have been wiped from the face of the earth."
"We have unparalleled firepower, unlimited ammunition, and plenty of time," he added.
"Watch what happens to these deranged scumbags today. They’ve been killing innocent people all over the world for 47 years, and now I, as the 47th President of the United States of America, am killing them. What a great honor it is to do so!," Trump concluded.
In his first comments, Khamenei vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut and called on neighboring countries to close U.S. bases on their territory or risk Iranian targeting.
"We will not refrain from avenging the blood of your martyrs," Khamenei said in a section addressed to the Iranian nation, according to text published by Iranian state media.
"I advise the leaders of regional countries to shut down those (U.S.) bases as soon as possible, for they must surely have realized by now that the U.S.’ claims of ensuring security and peace have been nothing but lies," he said.
The statement followed reports that Khamenei had been injured and was possibly in a coma after U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father during a Tehran compound attack on Feb. 28.
Trump also stated that Iran had threatened neighboring countries with missile deployments before the war.
"Iran had thousands of missiles pointed at all these Middle Eastern countries for the last four months," he said.
"They were going to take over the Middle East, they were going to control it all, UAE, Qatar, Oman and Saudi Arabia" before warning that Iran had "1,200 missiles pointed at these countries."
"All these nations were afraid of Iran and they are not anymore. But they had reason to be afraid. We have knocked the hell out of them like no other nation could and they still have remnants left," Trump said.
Trump also commented on maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz as the conflict widened.
He said vessels should "go through the strait of Hormuz and show some guts."
"There’s nothing to be afraid of. They have no Navy and we sunk all their ships," Trump added.
The U.S. and Israel began attacks on Iran on Feb. 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf countries with U.S. bases.
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