Donald Trump has claimed he saved Ayatollah Ali Khamenei from an "ugly" and disgraceful death, as the Iranian Supreme Leader remains in hiding since the start of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel. Though Khamenei has not been seen in public, in a televised address aired on Thursday, he declared Iran had "dealt a hard slap to America’s face".

His comments triggered backlash from the US President, who on Friday said he knew "exactly where he [Khamenei] was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces... terminate his life". On his Truth Social channel, Mr Trump said: “I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH. And he does not have to say, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!'” The president said he saved the life of the leader by ordering Israeli jets to do a U-turn while en route to assassinate him.

According to Mr Trump, he saved the Ayatollah's life because he "would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life".

"In fact, in the final act of the War, I demanded that Israel bring back a very large group of planes, which were heading directly to Tehran, looking for a big day, perhaps the final knockout!" he explained. "Tremendous damage would have ensued, and many Iranians would have been killed. It was going to be the biggest attack of the War, by far."

He also accused Khamenei of wilfully lying to the Iranian people: "Why would the so-called 'Supreme Leader,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of the war torn Country of Iran, say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the War with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie, it is not so," he said. "As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie."

On Saturday, thousands took to the streets of Tehran for the funerals of Iran's top commanders and nuclear scientists killed in recent Israeli air strikes. Senior political and military figures attending the funeral on Saturday included Masoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran, and Esmail Qaani, head of the Quds Force, the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned, according to state media.

Tehran has admitted that the US attacks on its nuclear sites had caused "excessive" damage to its nuclear programme. However, some experts believe Trump has lied about the extent of the damage caused. The US President has boasted that he "obliterated" Iranian nuclear bunkers, however, a recent US intelligence report found that the programme has only been set back a few months.

US B-2 stealth bombers dropped several 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs, causing the entrance to collapse and damage to the structure, but the underground infrastructure was not destroyed, according to an assessment by the Defence Intelligence Agency.