Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran's supreme leader is “in good health” and “firmly managing the situation” amid questions over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate, CNN reports.
Abbas Araghchi's statements were made in an interview with the pan-Arab publication Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, published on Sunday.
Araghchi also claimed that “the situation in Iran is stable and there is no rift within the government or military institutions.”
The Iranian minister also insisted that Iran's attacks on Gulf countries did not target civilian or residential areas and that Iran's diplomatic relations with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman and neighboring countries continue.
Trump says Mojtaba Khamenei is probably dead
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since the start of the Middle East war. He was elected supreme leader on March 8 following the killing of his father in US and Israeli attacks. His election was made with the support of the Revolutionary Guards, the paramilitary force of Iran's Islamic regime.
Khamenei issued his first statement on March 12, but it was read by an Iranian television anchor.
Iranian officials have acknowledged that Mojtaba Khamenei was wounded in the Israeli attack that opened the war, but say his injuries are not serious.
A source familiar with the situation told CNN that Khamenei suffered a broken leg, a contusion to his left eye and facial injuries.
In an interview with NBC News on Saturday, US President Donald Trump questioned whether Iran's new supreme leader is “alive”.
“I heard he's not alive, but if he's alive, he should do something very smart for his country, which is turn himself in,” Trump added, before describing reports of his death as a “rumor.”
