U.S. President Donald Trump has said the whereabouts of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is well-known and that he will not be taken out just yet.
President Trump said this on Tuesday via Truth Social while calling on Iran to surrender unconditionally in the ongoing tensions between Israel and the Islamic nation.
“We know exactly where the so-called “Supreme Leader” is hiding. He is an easy target, but is safe there – We are not going to take him out (kill!), at least not for now.
“But we don’t want missiles shot at civilians, or American soldiers. Our patience is wearing thin. Thank you for your attention to this matter,” Trump wrote.
Earlier, the U.S. President wrote on Truth Social that the skies over Iran have been taken over totally while bragging over military might.
Trump wrote: “We now have complete and total control of the skies over Iran. Iran had good sky trackers and other defensive equipment, and plenty of it, but it doesn’t compare to American made, conceived, and manufactured “stuff.” Nobody does it better than the good ol’ USA”.
Recall that over the weekend, Iran’s Supreme Leader appointed new military commanders following the deaths of key security officials in Israeli airstrikes on Tehran.
The appointments come after Israel launched a wave of airstrikes early Friday targeting Tehran and other Iranian cities.
The strikes killed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Bagheri, Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Commander Hossein Salami, and Gholam-Ali Rashid, head of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, the report said.
Khamenei named Abdolrahim Mousavi as the new chief of staff of the armed forces, Mohammad Pakpour as the IRGC’s new commander, and Ali Shadmani to lead the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters.
Before their appointments, Mousavi headed the regular army, Pakpour commanded the IRGC’s Ground Force, and Shadmani served as deputy coordinator at Khatam al-Anbiya.
In addition to the top military leaders, the Israeli strikes also killed six Iranian nuclear scientists, including Mohammad-Mehdi Tehranchi and Fereydoun Abbasi, as well as an unspecified number of civilians, the report added.
In a statement, Khamenei condemned the attacks, warning that Israel would face “severe punishment” for what he called a crime against Iran.
Meanwhile, Shadmani appointed to lead the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters was killed on Tuesday in an overnight airstrike on the command centre in central Tehran.
The strike was carried out by the Israeli Air Force following “precise intelligence and a sudden opportunity,” the military said in a statement.
Shadmani, is described by the Israeli military as the top operational commander of the Iranian armed forces and a close associate of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He had commanded both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian army.
He was appointed to lead Iran’s armed forces at the start of the ongoing five-day warfare after Israel assassinated his predecessor, Alaa Ali Rashid, in an earlier strike that started the current fighting.