US believes Iranian supreme leader is alive — secretary of state

WASHINGTON, April 28. /TASS/. The US administration believes that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is alive, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in an interview with Fox News. "Well, we have indications that he is, obviously, they (Iranian representatives - TASS) claim that he is. We don't have evidence that he's not," he said when asked if the Iranian supreme leader was alive. In early April, The Times, citing intelligence data it had obtained, reported that Mojtaba Khamenei was allegedly undergoing medical treatment and was not taking part in decision-making. The United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran on February 28. On April 7, US President Donald Trump declared a two-week ceasefire with Iran. According to the Iranian side, as many as 3,375 people died in the US-Israeli attacks on Iran over 40 days of the war. On April 11, Iran and the US held several rounds of talks in Islamabad, however both sides later reported that they were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term settlement of the conflict due to a number of contradictions. On April 21, US President Donald Trump announced his intention to extend the ceasefire with Iran. Meanwhile, according to the Iranian state television, Tehran does not recognize Washington’s unilateral ceasefire extension and will act as it deems necessary in its interests.