WASHINGTON, DC: US President Donald Trump has asserted that Iran’s top military leadership has been eliminated, claiming that Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is “90% gone” as Washington and Tehran exchanged renewed strikes over the weekend
The declaration coincided with an announcement that Washington intends to re-establish a maritime blockade on Iran and levy fees on vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz to guarantee safe transit, a move that triggered an immediate and sharp retaliation from Tehran.
Elaborating on the situation during an interview with Fox News on Monday, Trump stated that recent coordinated military strikes by the US and Israel had completely shattered Iran’s defensive 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 during the broadcast.
Detailing the extent of the leadership vacuum in Tehran, the US President noted that the country’s most prominent strategic commanders had been neutralised during the operations.
“Their best leaders have been killed. They’re gone. Khomeini is gone,” Trump stated, in an apparent reference to Ali Khamenei, who was killed in late February during the initial wave of US-Israeli aerial bombardment against Iran.
The US President further alleged that Mojtaba Khamenei, who has been widely projected as his late father’s successor, had also been incapacitated during the military campaign, describing him as being “90% gone”. (ANI)
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