US President Donald Trump said he believes Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei remains alive despite suffering severe injuries.
Khamenei has not appeared publicly since assuming power following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in February.
“I don’t think he’s dead,” Trump said during an interview with conservative broadcaster Glenn Beck, according to AFP. “He was very badly injured—the left side of his body, his arm, his leg, everything. He was very badly injured, but I don’t think he’s dead.”
Trump also portrayed Iran as facing a deepening domestic crisis, claiming that many members of its armed forces were not being paid, inflation had reached 300 percent and the national currency had become virtually worthless.
He said Iranians faced severe risks when attempting to demonstrate, alleging that snipers had been positioned on rooftops to target protesters.
The US president also repeated his assertion that Iran’s military capabilities had been devastated, declaring that its navy was “completely finished” and that its air force had suffered the same fate.
Iranian authorities have not publicly confirmed Khamenei’s condition, and Trump did not provide evidence supporting his assessment.