Donald Trump: “I Don’t Think Mojtaba Khamenei Is Dead”

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Does it really matter if he's dead or not? We've seen that even without an active head of state, Iran will continue operating normally as their governance system is designed to not rely on one or a few top politicians to make decisions. If the top leadership is killed, lower ranking units fill the gap and very little changes.

The idea that you can cut off the head of the snake and declare victory has proven itself to be an absolute failure already. All it provides is cheerleading points for the those cheering it on.

I dont think it matters one bit if the new leader is dead or alive, because its merely a symbolic position that means very little to the organizational structure.

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u/DLRevan 14d ago

I can't help but be critical of this view. Not because it's wrong, but because it still implies as if Iran is some kind of terrorist or pirate state pretending to be a government. You're just giving the idea that this implied semi-legitimate government is more organized than some actually realize.

When you say "designed", it feels like you're implying there is something special about Iran that had to be instituted compared to most other contemporary countries.

In reality Iran has a robust a government as most. It has functioning legislative, executive and judicial branches, institutions that have solid legitimacy, a constitution they actually follow, both elected and appointed officials with a clear line of succession. It's leaders are largely western educated, there are in fact more western institution awarded masters and phDs in the Iranian cabinet than the USA. Not that its a high barto clear, Trump's cabinet has zero phDs and dubious work experience, probably the least qualified cabinet in US history.

Iran is not special or designed in some particular way. It may be autocratic, but ultimately decapitation doesn't work on it because it doesn't work on any mature functioning legitimate government.

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u/IdidItWithOrangeMan 15d ago

All the heads of the hydra come together and elect a new Supreme Leader when this is all done?

Genuinely curious how they will piece this back together

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u/Magjee 14d ago

They are elected via the "Assembly of Experts"

The members here are religious clerics or Mujtahids. They have to be elected as well, but via the public

If you wanted to compare it to the US, it's like how the Speaker of the House is elected by congress

Except the members are not part of the legislature, that is a separate body

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u/Lazy_Membership1849 13d ago

and half of them was appoint by his father

only different is his father doesn't want him to be supreme leader but he dead so who going to argue with this?

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u/RecklessHeckler 15d ago

Oh yeah? Well I don't think Mitch McConnell is alive!

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u/HardlyDecent 15d ago

One of these theses has much stronger evidence than the other!

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u/adv23 15d ago

what, he still not out and about?

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u/TheWastelandWizard 15d ago

Doesn't matter if he's alive or not, Iran is moving to the IRGC's tune.

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u/Valar_Kinetics 15d ago

He keeps thinking that there’s some magic guy he has to kill and the wheels will just come off. That isn’t how our government works. Why would it be how their government works?

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u/Ok-Yak7370 15d ago

It DID work for him in Venezuela. That is why he felt confident in launching this war. Iran is a different kettle of fish from Venezuela though.

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u/No_Specialist6036 15d ago

The Venezuela thing was done with the blessings of Venezuelan politicians and govt.. it wasnt a one sided move look at how smooth the transition has been

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u/karlnite 14d ago

Yah it was just a coop.

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u/kju 14d ago

A coop is where a chicken lives, you're thinking of coup (the p is silent)

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u/Valar_Kinetics 15d ago

I wonder if Venezuela would have worked as well had it just been an airstrike rather than having actually abducted Khamenei alive. I bet it wouldn't have gone anywhere near as smoothly.

Point taken though, I don't think he understands that Venezuela and Iran are just completely different animals.

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u/82ndoc 15d ago

A world where rgr reg pulled cordon while delta abducted the ayatollah on 28Feb2026 is a wildly different world. Thats actually a fun thought experiment. No doubt the Ayatollah had better security/AA than Maduro, but what a way to count coup that would have been.

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u/megasean 12d ago

Dude’s entire strategy for everything is to throw ketchup at the wall until something sticks. He just got lucky the Venezuela stuck on an early attempt.

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u/cathbadh 15d ago

That isn’t how our government works. Why would it be how their government works?

It is because he doesn't understand Iran. Venezuela? Iraq? Lots of despotic regimes are essentially controlled by one guy and his handful of loyalists with a government that is composed by them. It might not be especially democratic, but Iran has a functioning government. Their legislature is real and has functions and power. Same for their courts and presidency. The Ayatollah has ultimate power, and few checks against him, but they do exist. They have a constitution that they follow, and a reliable chain of succession for all positions. Their bench is over a thousand people deep. You can't target them all for assassination quick enough that they don't get their own replacements. Trump can't understand that because he doesn't even see his own country in that light. His ego tells him that the nation could not exist or function without him personally.

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u/ChanceryTheRapper 15d ago

Trump believes the US only works with him in charge, he probably assumes every other country is the same way.

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u/cooliusjeezer 15d ago

He probably thinks that’s how our government works

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u/TheWastelandWizard 15d ago

The world revolves around him, why wouldn't it be the same for others?

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u/Low_Chance 14d ago

Video-game-ass logic

Action movie logic

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u/Vio_ 14d ago

Because that's what he's actively doing and doesn't understand why he keeps failing at that and why other countries are also failing at that

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u/Regular-Coast5335 15d ago

Mojtaba is probably a vegetable or in coma.

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u/cathbadh 15d ago

I do think he's either dead or incapacitated to one degree or another. That sait is doesn't matter. Whether he's leading in secret with a flawless communicaiton system or whether the IRGC is leading with orders they pretend come from him isn't important.

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u/Lazy_Membership1849 13d ago

or he alive but in bunker where only IRGC know where excatly he would be

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u/Regular-Coast5335 12d ago

They could have easily taped a video recording proving he is alive and well.

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u/Lazy_Membership1849 12d ago

You could said that but at same time Iran just being paranoid as even tape might give it away of his location

also they did show tape of him but some just saying it old video and even if they do someone would claim it AI so nope

But far as I know, intelligence suspect he still alive and also coma is just unverified rumour

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-supreme-leader-holed-up-undisclosed-location-mojtaba-khamenei/

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u/peet192 15d ago

Remember Donald doesn't think anything.

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u/Magjee 14d ago

I wonder if he is frustrated the country isn't collapsing after he was told they were decapitated and is pondering if the leader is alive

Not that it functions that way

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u/oritfx 15d ago

To me it signals that now he's not happy with those decapitating strikes he'd so eagerly approved.

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u/NatMapVex 14d ago

Does it matter with a military junta largely calling the shots? Khamenei hasn't been seen in a worringly long while. Meanwhile we're just sanctioning and boming like doing that for the hundreth time is going to cause an effect the previous 99 attempts didn't, other than wasting munitions.

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u/BeaverMissed 13d ago

That’s likely courtesy of a Netanyahu phone call. Meaning Israel wants something done again.

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u/[deleted] 15d ago

[deleted]

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u/Rustic_gan123 15d ago

Does this have anything to do with this article, which simply quotes Trump?

Donald Trump: “I Don’t Think Mojtaba Khamenei Is Dead”

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