US President Donald Trump has claimed that a CIA report identified Iran’s new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, as gay, repeating an allegation that has not been independently verified. Speaking at the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner on Friday,Trump said the media had failed to report what he described as his administration’s major achievements. “Now that I’ve got all of the media in one room, I have to say we’ve had an incredible number of achievements that the press never talks about,” he said. Referring to Iran,Trump added: “A regime that was once terrifying and powerful, and constantly attacking America, has finally fallen. Its former leaders are gone, and it is now run by a gay dictator facing internal divisions.” His remarks came after he previously told Fox News that he had received a report from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) alleging that Mojtaba Khamenei, whom he described as the new leader of the Islamic Republic, is gay. The allegation was first reported by the New York Post on 16 March. The newspaper said the CIA believed Iran’s former Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had been concerned that his son’s sexual orientation could make him an unsuitable successor.
