Donald Trump claims CIA flagged Mojtaba Khamenei as ‘Gay’, Offers No Evidence

US President Donald Trump on Thursday (US time) claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency had informed him that Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was gay.

During an interview with Fox News, when asked if the CIA had told him that the new Ayatollah was gay, Trump said, "Well, they did say that, but I don't know if it was only them."

He claimed that a lot of people were saying the same and suggested that it placed the leader at a disadvantage within Iran’s socio-legal framework.

He did not provide any evidence to support the claim.

In Iran, homosexuality is illegal and is considered a violation of Islamic values, with punishments governed under Sharia-based laws.

Why did Donald Trump react with surprise to intelligence on Mojtaba Khamenei?

According to a prior report by the New York Post, Trump was reportedly surprised after being briefed by US intelligence indicating that Mojtaba Khamenei may be gay, reacting with visible astonishment and laughter during the briefing.

Meanwhile, the United States Central Command confirmed that Alireza Tangsiri, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, was killed in an Israeli airstrike.

In a statement, Admiral Brad Cooper, Commander of US CENTCOM, said the elimination of Tangsiri "makes the region safer", asserting that the IRGC-N under his leadership had harassed merchant vessels, attacked ships with drones and missiles, and caused civilian casualties.

"The Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps - Navy (IRGC-N) commander, Admiral Alireza Tangsiri, was designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the US Treasury in June 2019, with additional secondary sanctions added in 2024 related to drone development," the statement read.

Cooper added that since the launch of Operation Epic Fury, a US-led campaign against Iran’s naval forces, "92% of the large ships in the Iranian Navy have been eliminated", leaving the IRGC-N effectively unable to project power in the Middle East or beyond.

He also warned that US military strikes would continue and urged Iranian personnel to abandon their posts.

"U.S. military strikes on the IRGC-N will continue. Therefore, we call on every Iranian serving in the IRGC-N to immediately abandon their post and return home to avoid further risk of unnecessary injury or death," the statement read.

How did the Israel Defense Forces eliminate Alireza Tangsiri in Bandar Abbas?

Earlier, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed the elimination of the top command of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Navy, including its commander and the head of its intelligence division.

In a post on X, the IDF said the Israeli Air Force, acting under precise intelligence guidance from Military Intelligence and the Navy’s Intelligence Branch, struck overnight in Bandar Abbas and eliminated Tangsiri, who had led the force for eight years.

It stated that he held key roles, "including overseeing the regime's maritime terror activities and coordinating between Iranian military forces in the Gulf region".

According to the IDF, Tangsiri also "led the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and promoted terror actions in the maritime domain, being one of the main figures responsible for disrupting the global economy."

Alongside him, Hanam Rezaei, head of the Navy’s Intelligence Division, was also killed.

He was described as a "hub of knowledge in maritime intelligence" who engaged in intelligence gathering on regional countries and led collaborations with various intelligence organisations.

The IDF said the operation was part of a broader campaign that included dozens of eliminations of Iranian commanders, constituting "another severe blow to the Revolutionary Guards' command and control systems and to their ability to conduct terror activities in the maritime domain against regional countries."

(With inputs from ANI)