Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has vowed decisive revenge against the United States and Israel for the assassination of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In his first written statement released since his father’s multi-day state funeral concluded this week, Mojtaba declared that “vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out.” He emphasized that the retaliation list has already been compiled, stating that the planned reprisals do not depend on his own survival or that of other top Iranian officials.
The fiery remarks came just hours after US President Donald Trump issued a severe warning on social media, threatening to “completely decimate” Iran if any attempts are made to assassinate him. Trump claimed that the US military has “1,000 missiles locked and loaded” following intelligence reports regarding an alleged Iranian plot against his life. The escalation in rhetoric marks a dangerous breakdown in the fragile diplomatic efforts being led by regional mediators from Qatar and Pakistan, who have been actively working to salvage an interim ceasefire agreement.
The ongoing war, which initially erupted in late February following massive US-Israeli airstrikes that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several family members, has severely disrupted the global economy due to Iran’s retaliatory closure of the strategic Strait of Hormuz. Despite the intense threats traded between Washington and Tehran, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi insisted that Tehran has strictly adhered to the memorandum of understanding signed last month, warning that regional peace can only be maintained through mutual compliance rather than capitulation.
