Name: Trump on reports of Ayatollah's death: 'We feel that is a correct story'
Uploaded: 2026-02-28T23:04:25.000Z
Duration: 4 min 36 s
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Present continuous

Kristen Welker, moderator of Meet the Press, is joining us now.

Past simple

Kristen, you just got off the phone with the President of the United States and he talked to you about Khamenei and the possibility that he may have been killed in strikes.

This was an extraordinary three minute conversation.

Yasmin, let me read you the key takeaways.

I asked President Trump if he had confirmation that Ayatollah Khamenei has in fact been killed.

He said to me, I've spoken to a lot of people.

Again, when I asked him about the reports that the Supreme Leader has in fact been killed, President Trump saying, we feel that is a correct story, he went on to say, quote, a large number, number of their leaders have also been killed.

The fact that he said this was not just one person, Yasmin, the fact that, according to President Trump, in this phone call that I have with him, he believes it's a correct story that the Supreme Leader has been killed along with, he says, a large amount of leadership.

he says that in some of those subsequent attacks, that is what ultimately killed the leadership of Iran.

I asked him when he would know that this operation has been a success.

We're probably in terms of 0 to 10, we're close to the 10 spot.

Large portions of the leadership, they don't know how many, he says, but

he says that the leadership has largely been wiped out from Iran.

So a significant, huge news revelation and development in this three minute conversation with President Trump.

When I said, specifically, sir, how will you know that this has been a success?

He said, quote, yasmin, I think it's already been a success.

When he talks about we're at the ten spot, Christine, what do you think he means by that?

As in, the operation has gone well, or we're almost done, we're almost there?

I think he is arguing that so far he believes that the United States has hit its targets, that the United States strategy is playing out.

It seemed to be that was part of what he was arguing.

But I go back to this last statement and I'll read it to you in full.

I was trying to get a sense of just how long this would be.

He said, I think it's already been a success.

And then I tried to pin him down on a timeline.

Unfortunately, as you can imagine, he said he is making a number of calls right now.

Foreign leaders and had to end the conversation at that point.

But in those three minutes, again saying that the US Believes that it is a correct report that the supreme leader is killed.

I know this is just three minutes, Kristen, but

I'm going to ask you to read between the lines a little bit more, which you're very good at.

We have heard a little bit about what he wants to happen next, but

I think it's important to reiterate for folks what it is he wants to happen next.

If he's reaching this 10, he feels as if we are almost there.

Is this now handing the baton over to the Iranian people to see what then happens, what they're able to do to essentially, you know, work towards regime change?

And if, in fact they're not able to pull that off, I mean, there is still the Revolutionary Guard, there are still members of the Supreme Council that are still very much alive.

Is the United States, is Israel willing to go back into the ring?

Well, I think that's the big question, Yasmin, about what happens next.

In his public comments earlier today, he obviously called on the people of Iran to rise up, to seize this moment.

I asked him who is going to replace the supreme leader if in fact he has been killed, and

he essentially said, well, they'll likely call me and get my take on that.

He said, I'm being a little bit sarcastic, but

it's clear there's a vacuum that it's not entirely clear.

And that's where he points back to the Iranian people themselves to in this moment, rise up, seize the moment and carry out regime change in terms of replacing leadership.

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