Trump claims to have 'literally obliterated' Iran but says he doesn't know if its leader is 'dead or not'

At a press conference before a Kennedy Center board meeting on Day 17 of the Iran war, Trump declared that the US had 'literally obliterated' the Iranian regime, claiming 'the Air Force is gone and the Navy is gone.' He claimed the US military had struck more than 7,000 targets across Iran, sunk or destroyed more than 100 naval vessels including 30 mine-laying ships, achieved a 90% reduction in ballistic missile launches and 95% decline in drone attacks. Yet in the same appearance, Trump said of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei: 'We don't know if he's dead or not.' He also said 'we don't even know their leaders' and 'all of their leaders are dead as far as we know' before adding 'We don't know who we're dealing with.' The absurdity of claiming total military obliteration while simultaneously admitting ignorance about whether the enemy's leader was alive captured the fundamental incoherence of Trump's wartime leadership.

"We don't know if he's dead or not" — Said about Iran's supreme leader at Kennedy Center press conference after claiming the US had 'literally obliterated' the Iranian regime and that 'the Air Force is gone and the Navy is gone'