Trump: Mostafa Khamenei is 90% eliminated - Sarmad

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that senior Iranian leaders had been killed and that the current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, had disappeared by 90 percent.

Trump stated during an interview with Fox News: “They have no navy, no air force. Everything is gone… Their air defenses have vanished, all their leaders have been killed, and their best commanders have been killed.”

The U.S. president added: “Khamenei is gone, and his son Mojtaba is gone by 90 percent.”

In a further escalation of the confrontation with Tehran, President Trump announced the reimposition of sanctions on Iran and revealed a plan to make the United States the “guardian of the Strait of Hormuz.”

Trump said Washington would reimpose a naval blockade on Iran and would collect a 20 percent fee on all shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz, while emphasizing that Iran has “no chance of rebuilding its military capabilities.”

Trump affirmed that the implementation of this measure would begin immediately, noting that the Strait of Hormuz is open and will remain open whether Iran is present or not.

Earlier on Monday, Trump said the United States might take control of the Strait of Hormuz and manage it, pointing out that Iranian negotiators had “broken the agreement.”

In a phone interview with Fox News, the U.S. president accused Iran of backing away from previous understandings with the United States, saying: “We had an agreement, but they broke it,” adding, “They are bad people.”

He continued: “We will control the strait, and perhaps we will manage it… We will become the guardians of the strait, and perhaps we will be called the ‘Guardian Angels of the Strait,’ and we must be compensated for that” (protection fees), arguing that the United States should receive financial compensation for protecting one of the world’s most important waterways.

In response to Trump’s remarks, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that Tehran would not allow Washington to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz.