Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has vowed that revenge for the killing of his father and predecessor, Ali Khamenei, will be carried out, hours.
This comes just after U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran against any attempt to assassinate him.
The exchange of threats comes as efforts continue to preserve a fragile ceasefire following weeks of fighting between Iran, the United States and Israel.
The conflict began in late February with large-scale U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed Ali Khamenei.
In his first public message since his father’s funeral, Mojtaba Khamenei said retribution remained a national objective regardless of who was in power.
‘Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,’ he said in a written statement.
‘This matter depends neither on my personal existence nor on that of other officials. Whether we are present or not, it will come to pass.’
He also claimed Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted, though he did not provide further details.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump issued a stern warning on his Truth Social platform, saying any attempt on his life would trigger overwhelming military retaliation.
The U.S. president said thousands of missiles were ready to strike Iran and warned that the American military had standing orders to ‘completely decimate’ the country if Tehran acted on any assassination threats against him.
The latest war of words follows renewed military exchanges this week that threatened an interim agreement aimed at ending hostilities.
While Trump has declared the ceasefire effectively over, diplomatic efforts are continuing behind the scenes.
Iranian media reported that a Qatari delegation visited Tehran on Friday, July 10, in an attempt to revive negotiations, while Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, insisted Tehran had honoured its commitments under a memorandum of understanding signed last month.
‘There can only be mutual compliance,’ Araghchi said, maintaining that Iran had fulfilled its obligations.
