United States President Donald Trump has said he believes Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is still alive, despite months of uncertainty over his health and his prolonged absence from public view following the US-Israeli strikes that killed his father.
Trump said on Wednesday that the Iranian leader had been gravely wounded during the February attack but rejected speculation that he had died.
“I don’t think he’s dead. He was very seriously wounded,” Trump told conservative radio host Glenn Beck.
“The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing. He was very seriously wounded. But I don’t think he’s dead.”
Mojtaba Khamenei succeeded his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after the 86-year-old longtime supreme leader was killed in the opening US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.
The younger Khamenei was also reported wounded during the assault and has maintained an unusually low public profile since assuming Iran’s highest political and religious office.
His continued absence has fuelled speculation over the extent of his injuries and whether he remains fully capable of directing the Islamic Republic at a time of war.
Iranian state media reported earlier this month that President Masoud Pezeshkian had met Khamenei in late July for discussions covering military affairs, the economy and foreign relations.
Tehran has also released rare footage said to show the supreme leader, although at least some of the material was undated and therefore did not independently establish when it was recorded.
The uncertainty has become increasingly significant as veteran Revolutionary Guard figures take prominent roles within Iran’s security establishment.
Among them is Mohsen Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who was recently appointed secretary of the Supreme National Security Council and is regarded as a close ally of Khamenei.
Trump suggested that Iranian officials continued to behave as though Khamenei remained involved in major decisions, saying Tehran’s leaders regularly referred to obtaining his approval.
But the US President acknowledged the uncertainty surrounding the Iranian leader’s condition.
“If he is [dead], they’re putting on a pretty good show,” Trump said, referring to reports that Iranian officials continue to consult the supreme leader before major decisions.
Trump used the interview to again predict that sustained American military and economic pressure would eventually force Tehran to yield.
“Those things are going toward a very big victory,” he said. “We’re going to have a big victory here very soon.”
His declaration comes almost six months after the United States and Israel launched the war against Iran on February 28.
Despite repeated predictions of success from Washington, the conflict remains unresolved, while the Strait of Hormuz has emerged as one of the most consequential battlegrounds.
Trump insisted during the interview that the crucial waterway was effectively open and that mines threatening commercial vessels had been removed.
“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.
However, available shipping data paint a considerably more complicated picture.
Only five commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, compared with a 10-day average of 15, while traffic remains far below pre-war levels. Reuters reported that oil flows through the strategic waterway continue to be severely disrupted.
The Associated Press also reported on Wednesday that the Strait remained largely closed as Iran and Oman negotiated arrangements to manage commercial shipping through the waterway.
Before the conflict, the Strait carried roughly a fifth of globally traded oil and natural gas, making control of the narrow passage critical not only to the war but also to global energy prices.
Trump also repeated his determination to prevent Tehran from possessing a nuclear weapon.
“We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon. That’s what it’s all about. That’s 99.9 percent,” he said.
The US President claimed that Iran would use such a weapon if allowed to acquire one, while asserting that his administration had already stopped Tehran’s nuclear ambitions on two occasions.
Iran has repeatedly maintained that its nuclear programme is intended for peaceful purposes, while Washington and Israel have argued that Tehran must be prevented from developing the capability to produce a nuclear weapon.
For now, however, uncertainty over Mojtaba Khamenei has added another layer of unpredictability to an already volatile conflict.
Officially, he remains Iran’s supreme leader. Iranian institutions continue to issue decisions in his name, and Tehran says he remains involved in government affairs.
Yet his prolonged absence from normal public duties, reports of severe injuries and the growing prominence of hardline military veterans have ensured that questions surrounding his condition will persist.
And with the war approaching its six-month mark, the mystery is no longer merely about Khamenei’s health. It has become a question about where power truly lies in Tehran — and who ultimately has the authority to decide whether Iran continues fighting or moves towards an agreement with Washington.
