Washington: US President Donald Trump has claimed that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been killed, describing him as “one of the most brutal figures in history” and declaring that he “could not escape” American intelligence and tracking systems.
Trump said Khamenei’s reported death amounts to justice “not only for the people of Iran, but for all great Americans and for people in many countries across the world who were killed by Khamenei and his terrorists.” He asserted that the Iranian leader “could not evade our intelligence agencies and state-of-the-art tracking systems,” and termed the moment “the greatest opportunity” for Iranians to reclaim their country.
According to Trump, many personnel from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the military, and other security and police forces “no longer want to fight and are asking us for relief.” “As I have said before, they can be granted clemency now, later they will face only death,” he warned, issuing an open call for defection.
The former president expressed hope that the IRGC and police would “peacefully merge with Iranian patriots and work together as one unit to restore the honour the country deserves.” He stressed that this transition should begin quickly, claiming that with Khamenei’s death “the country has also been badly devastated and almost destroyed in a single day.”
Trump further indicated that “heavy and precise bombing” would continue “uninterrupted, for as long as necessary” to achieve what he described as the objective of peace across the world.