Trump Claims Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is Alive but Seriously Wounded

US President Donald Trump said he believes Iran's Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is alive but was seriously wounded in the strikes that killed his father, following fresh reports speculating that the younger Khamenei had died.

"I don't think he's dead. He was very seriously wounded. The left side of his body, the arm, the leg, the whole thing. He was very seriously wounded, but I don't think he's dead," Trump told conservative commentator Glenn Beck.

Trump added he based his assessment on Iranian negotiators' own behaviour. “If he is (dead), they're putting on a pretty good show because they talk about going back to talk to him all the time to get a final blessing on things," he said.

Mojtaba Khamenei, 56, was selected as ayatollah by Iran's Assembly of Experts on 8 March, days after his father Ali Khamenei was killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes of 28 February that launched the war.

He has not appeared in public, in photographs or in any verified video or audio recording since his appointment. He was absent from his father's funeral ceremonies in July.

The Atlantic, citing unnamed sources close to the Iranian government, reported this week that Tehran was "abuzz" with speculation about his fate.

Former official and Khamenei relative Mohammad Hossein Khosh Hossein Khoshvaght told the magazine that fewer than five people had met with Khamenei since March, "due to security precautions."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian previously said communication with Khamenei had become "extremely difficult”.

US media previously reported, citing unnamed Iranian officials, that Mojtaba Khamenei sustained serious injuries in the strikes, has undergone multiple surgeries on his legs and arms, and has difficulty speaking due to severe burns to his face and lips.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said he was wounded and likely "disfigured". Tehran did not confirm those accounts.

'A very big victory'

Trump also addressed the Strait of Hormuz, claiming it was effectively open. "We take a lot of ships through the strait now. We're taking them in," he said, adding that mines had been cleared.

The strait remains formally closed to unrestricted commercial traffic under Iranian authority. Iranian forces have continued to intercept vessels attempting to transit routes not approved by Tehran, and US naval operations have been required to escort vessels through.

Trump said military and economic pressure on Iran was producing results. "These measures are moving towards a very big victory. We will achieve a major victory very soon," he said.

He also repeated his position on Iran's nuclear programme.

"We cannot allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. That is the whole issue — 99.9% of the issue is this. We cannot allow it, because they are crazy and they will use it."

"So far I've stopped it twice,” he added.