Trump says Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei 'may be dead' — 'I'm hearing he's not alive'

President Trump told NBC News in a late-night interview that he believes Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei may be dead. 'I don't know if he's even alive. So far, nobody's been able to show him,' Trump said. 'I'm hearing he's not alive, and if he is, he should do something very smart for his country, and that's surrender. Some of them think he's alive but very badly wounded.' Trump's comments escalate Defense Secretary Hegseth's statement from March 13, when Hegseth said the supreme leader was likely 'disfigured' after being wounded in US-Israeli strikes. The progression from 'injured' to 'disfigured' to 'may be dead' in three days of official US statements suggests either a deliberate psychological escalation campaign or genuine US intelligence indicating the supreme leader is dead or severely incapacitated. Iranian state TV has not shown Mojtaba Khamenei in a video address since the war began. His only public communication was a written statement earlier in the week, which Hegseth cited as evidence of his injury. The absence of video footage of a sitting head of state during a national crisis is highly unusual and consistent with either physical incapacitation or extreme security protocols. If Mojtaba Khamenei is dead or mortally wounded, Iran would face its second supreme leader succession in 15 days of war — a governance crisis without precedent in the Islamic Republic's history. The Assembly of Experts would need to convene to select a successor, creating a potential power vacuum in Iran's strategic decision-making at the most critical moment of the conflict. Iran has not responded directly to Trump's death claim. The IRGC has continued to issue operational statements, and government officials including FM Araghchi have remained publicly active throughout the conflict.