Trump on Iran: we don't know if new leader is still alive

FREE Breaking News Alerts from StreetInsider.com!

E-mail Address

StreetInsider.com Top Tickers, 9/25/2026

1. SPY
2. AKAM
3. COST
4. META
5. NVDA
6. ZS
7. AWK
8. DRI
9. ULS
10. QQQ

March 16, 2026 1:28 PM EDT

A woman holds an image of Iran's new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, alongside late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a funeral ceremony for the Iranian military commanders who were killed in strikes, amid the U.S.-Israeli conflict w

WASHINGTON, March 16 (Reuters) - ‌U.S. President ​Donald ​Trump said on Monday that it was unclear whether new Iranian leader Ayatollah Mojtaba ‌Khamenei was still alive, given reports he ⁠had been injured in an air strike.

"We don't know ... if ‌he's dead or not. ‌I will say that nobody has seen him, which is unusual," he said during an event ​at the White House.

After Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial strikes of ⁠the war, Tehran announced his son, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, had been ​named as his successor. Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said last week the new leader ​was believed to have been ‌wounded in a strike. He has not been seen publicly.

"A lot of people ⁠are saying that he's badly disfigured. They're saying that he lost his leg ... and he's been hurt very ⁠badly. Other people are saying he's dead," Trump said.

Oman has ​attempted multiple times to open a line of communication between the United States and Iran, but the White House made ‌it clear it is not interested at this juncture, Reuters reported on Saturday.

"We ‌don't know who their leader is. We have ⁠people wanting to negotiate. ‌We have no ​idea who they are," Trump said.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Steve Holland;Editing by David ‌Ljunggren)


Serious News for Serious Traders! Try StreetInsider.com Premium Free!

You May Also Be Interested In





Related Categories

Reuters