Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday (July 11, 2026) vowed revenge for the U.S.-Israeli killing of his father and predecessor, hours after President Donald Trump warned against any attempt to assassinate him.
Mr. Trump has declared their ceasefire over, while mediators have been trying to salvage diplomacy.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei laid to rest months after being killed in Iran war
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“Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message.
He became Iran’s Supreme Leader after his father Ali Khamenei’s killing in late February by U.S.-Israeli strikes, but has not been in public since before the war. “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 wrote in his first message since his father’s funeral this week. He said Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted.
Hours earlier Mr. Trump had posted on his Truth Social platform that any attempt to assassinate him would lead the U.S. to “completely decimate” Iran. “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to immediately follow should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!” Mr. Trump wrote.
“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one-year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran.”
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With both nations stepping up their threats, mediators have been working to bring diplomacy back on track. Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Friday that a Qatari delegation was visiting Iran to “try to reinforce Qatar’s role as a mediator”.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, insisted Tehran had stuck to its end of the bargain after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding last month.
Tehran “has so far kept its word”, he said. “Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance.” |
