U.S. President Donald Trump [AFP=Yonhap News]

President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum on the 14th (local time), stating that Iran's new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not yet appeared in public, must acknowledge defeat in the current war.

In a phone interview with NBC News (local time) on the same day, Trump said, "I don't even know if he's alive. Nobody has shown him to me yet," adding, "I heard he's not alive, but if he is alive, he needs to make a smart choice for his country. And that is to surrender."

Yesterday, U.S. Secretary of Defense (Secretary of War) Pete Hegseth stated in a briefing that Mojtaba was injured and likely disfigured.

In contrast, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi claimed in a video interview with MSNow on the same day, "There is no problem with the new Supreme Leader. He issued a statement yesterday and is carrying out his duties according to the constitution."

Hanmi Ilbo Editorial Department