Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has vowed to avenge the killing of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, declaring that revenge “must certainly” take place.
In his first public message since funeral ceremonies for his father began a week ago, Mojtaba Khamenei said vengeance would involve not only Iran but also “free people around the world.”
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28 at the start of the war.
“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” the statement said.
It added: “Whether we are there or not, this will be accomplished, and soon every free person around the world will fulfill a part of this divine mission.”
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since he was appointed supreme leader on March 8. Senior sources have said he suffered facial disfigurement and other injuries in the airstrike.
His continued absence has fuelled uncertainty in Iran, with some citizens saying the country’s new leader should appear publicly even if he is injured.
The latest statement comes after renewed exchanges between US and Iranian forces cast doubt on a ceasefire agreed to end the four-month war. Despite the recent fighting, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the two countries had agreed to continue talks.
Mojtaba Khamenei became supreme leader with the backing of the Revolutionary Guards following the death of his father, who ruled Iran for 37 years and was buried at the country’s holiest shrine after a state funeral.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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