US president claims Iran’s military leadership is wiped out. He claimed that current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei is ‘90%’ gone.
In a media interview, Trump claimed that the recent strikes by the US had severely damaged Iran’s military infrastructure. “They have no navy. They have no air force. It’s all gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone. Their leaders have all been killed,” Trump said.
Referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed during the opening phase of US-Israeli strikes on Iran, he said- “Their best leaders have been killed. They’re gone. Khomeini is gone.” According to reports, Mojtaba has reportedly been recovering from injuries sustained in an airstrike and has refrained coming in public since. However, there is no official confirmation about the whereabouts of the current leader. Reports also claimed Mojtaba Khamenei was spotted at his father’s funeral ceremony with a make over.
Meanwhile, Iran rejecting Washington’s claims on control over the Strait of Hormuz. Dismissing the announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on social media posted “Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is, of course, too much. We will be fair.”
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the US military would act as the “Guardian of the Hormuz Strait”.
“The Hormuz Strait is OPEN, and will remain OPEN, with or without Iran. We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait,” he wrote.
The rebuttal sparks a fresh escalation in the standoff between Washington and Tehran, with both governments asserting competing claims over the security and administration of the Strait of Hormuz while military tensions continue in the Gulf.