US President Donald Trump claimed that Iran’s top military leadership has been eliminated, asserting that Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is “90% gone”.
The remarks came as Washington and Tehran exchanged fresh strikes over the weekend and the US announced plans to reinstate an “Iranian blockade” in the Strait of Hormuz, drawing a sharp response from Iran.
Also Read | Trump’s big warning over calls to kill him at Khamenei funeral: ‘1,000 missiles locked, loaded’
‘It’s all gone’: Trump
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Trump said recent coordinated US-Israeli military strikes had completely dismantled Iran’s military capabilities.
“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 during the broadcast.
The US President also claimed that Iran’s senior military leadership had been wiped out during the campaign.
“Their best leaders have been killed. They’re gone. Khomeini is gone,” Trump stated, in an apparent reference to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in late February during the initial wave of US-Israeli aerial bombardment against Iran.
Trump further alleged that Mojtaba Khamenei, who has long been viewed as the frontrunner to succeed his late father, had also been almost finished. “The son is 90% gone,” Trump can be heard saying in a viral clip.
The younger Khamenei is reportedly recovering from severe injuries sustained in an earlier airstrike and was absent from the high-profile funeral ceremonies held across Iran and Iraq earlier this month.
Follow here for live updates on US-Iran war
Trump’s remarks amid fresh round of attacks
Trump’s remarks came after Washington and Tehran exchanged a fresh round of missile strikes over the weekend, further escalating tensions in the region.
Alongside his military claims, Trump announced that Washington would reimpose what he called an “Iranian blockade” and require commercial vessels using the Strait of Hormuz to pay the US for ensuring safe passage.
The proposal was first outlined in a Truth Social post, in which Trump declared that the US military would become 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,” Trump wrote on the platform.
He argued that countries using the strategic waterway should help bear the cost of US security operations, proposing a 20 per cent reimbursement tariff based on the value of cargo transported through the Strait.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi rejected Trump’s proposal, saying Tehran-not Washington-has historically safeguarded the waterway.
“Iran has always been the GUARDIAN of the Strait and will remain so FOREVER. 20% is, of course, too much. We will be fair,” Araghchi stated in a swift rebuttal published on social media.
The exchange of claims marks the latest escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, with both sides asserting competing claims over the security and administration of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global energy transit route, even as military operations continue across the Gulf.
