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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei broke his public silence on Saturday with a written statement declaring that retribution for his father’s assassination is unavoidable, marking his first remarks since presiding, in absentia, over the funeral of his predecessor.
In a message released on his Telegram account and signed on Friday, Khamenei declared that avenging his slain predecessor and father was “the demand of the nation” and that it “must certainly” take place. He framed the coming reprisal as a collective national obligation rather than a personal mission, one that would proceed regardless of who remains in power to see it through.
The funeral, held in Mashhad, came more than four months after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28 that opened a wider war.
Mojtaba Khamenei, quickly installed as his father’s successor by Iran’s clerical Assembly of Experts, has not appeared in public since, fueling speculation about his health and security. In his message, he vowed that those responsible for the killings would face justice, saying the culprits would carry to their graves the wish for a peaceful death in bed.
The commemoration drew heavy security and thousands of mourners, some of whom framed loyalty to the new leader as inseparable from the demand for vengeance.
Tensions remain acute, though, as two Basij paramilitary members were reportedly killed in an attack near the funeral site, and President Donald Trump has warned Washington would respond forcefully to any attempt on his life.
Qatari mediators are meanwhile said to be shuttling between Tehran and Washington in a bid to de-escalate the conflict and open space for broader negotiations, even as Iran’s new leadership signals no retreat from its vow of retaliation.
