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

The new leader was believed to have been wounded in a strike, Pentagon chief Hegseth says

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters aboard Air Force One on a flight back to Washington Mar 15, 2026. REUTERS

US 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, 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.