US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he believes Iran’s supreme leader, who has not been seen in public since taking over after his father’s killing in February, remains alive.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in February had declared Khamenei dead, after Israel and the United States launched an attack of unprecedented scale against the country.

“Khamenei, one of the most evil people in History, is dead,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

“This morning, in a powerful surprise strike, the compound of the tyrant Ali Khamenei was destroyed in the heart of Tehran… and there are many signs that this tyrant is no longer alive,” Netanyahu also said in a televised statement.

The strikes prompted Tehran to fire off a missile barrage that sent people running for cover in cities across the Middle East.

AFP