Mojtaba Khamenei's Condolence Message In Memory Of Navy Commander After Trump's 'Regime Change Over' Claims
"After years of struggle, this valiant commander attained martyrdom. His martyrdom in the epic of the third imposed war is a great honor for the people of Bushehr, the youth of the south, the armed forces, and the nation of Iran," Mojtaba Khamenei's message read.
- World News
- 3 min read
Washington: Hours after US President Donald Trump's claim that there has been a regime change in Iran, claiming that its newly appointed Supreme Leader is dead, Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a message accepting the death of its navy commander, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri.
Khamenei described the commander as a courageous son of Tangestan, as “a soldier of Iran, and a guardian of Islam”.
"After years of struggle, this valiant commander attained martyrdom. His martyrdom in the epic of the third imposed war is a great honor for the people of Bushehr, the youth of the south, the armed forces, and the nation of Iran," his message read.
Mojtaba Khamenei also extended condolences to the Admiral's family, the comrades, and the IRGC Navy.
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Earlier, amid such claims regarding whether he is alive, Mojtaba Khamenei had in a written message thanked the people of Iraq for their support in the war against the United States and Israel.
In the message, Khamenei had “expressed his appreciation to the supreme religious authority (in Iraq) and the people of Iraq for their clear stance against aggression against Iran and their support for our country.”
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What Trump Claimed About ‘Regime Change’
The condolence message comes after Trump's assertion that there has been a regime change in Iran, suggesting that Mojtaba Khamenei may be dead.
Trump said that Iranian leadership groups are "mostly dead" or composed of different figures than those previously in power, and he described the current situation as a form of regime change.
"I think we'll make a deal with them. Pretty sure. But it's possible we won't. But we've had regime change if you look already because the one regime was decimated, destroyed. They're all dead. The next regime is mostly dead," Trump said.
"And the third regime, we're dealing with different people than anybody's dealt with before. It's a whole different group of people. So I would consider that regime change. And frankly, they've been very reasonable. So I think we've had regime change," he added.
Largest Troop Build-Up
Trump's remarks come against the backdrop of reported US troop buildup in the Middle East. The United States Ship (USS) Tripoli, along with around 3,500 US Marines, has entered the US Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility, bringing one of America's largest amphibious assault ships (AAS) into an active combat theatre in West Asia amid the ongoing conflict. The deployment moved from its home base in Japan.
The USS Tripoli joined the US nuclear-powered aircraft carriers of the Nimitz and Ford-class aircraft carriers already deployed in the region.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier, which had earlier been deployed to support the US campaign in West Asia against Iran, is now anchored at the Port of Split as of March 29, as per the US Navy.