TEHRAN – Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, issued the strongest warning yet since assuming power, vowing to avenge the killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and declaring that retaliation against those responsible is “the demand of the nation.”
He coincided with nationwide funeral ceremonies for the former supreme leader, who was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes, an attack that dramatically reshaped Tehran’s political leadership and intensified regional tensions.
In his written message, Mojtaba pledged that the deaths of his father and those killed in what he described as two recent wars would not go unanswered. “We pledge to avenge your pure blood and the blood of all the martyrs,” he said, adding that revenge against what he called the “criminal” perpetrators was a national obligation. He insisted that the Iranian people expected retribution and vowed that it “must certainly be carried out.”
The warning came as Iran concluded days of state funeral ceremonies by burying Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the revered Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad on Thursday. Thousands of mourners flooded the northeastern city, carrying Iranian flags and chanting revolutionary slogans as the funeral procession moved through packed streets toward one of Shia Islam’s holiest sites.
The crowd grew so large that authorities were forced to transport the coffin by helicopter for the final stretch of the journey after the procession became gridlocked. Senior clerics later led the final funeral prayers before the burial at the shrine.
The funeral capped a week of official mourning that included ceremonies in Tehran and Qom, as well as memorial processions in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Four members of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s family, who were also killed in the February airstrike, were honored during the ceremonies.
After assuming Iran’s highest office, Mojtaba has not appeared in public since the February 28 strike. Iranian authorities have released only written statements in his name, while no photographs, videos, or audio recordings have been made public. Reports indicate he is recovering from injuries sustained in the attack and remains under heightened security.
Who was Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader who was assassinated after 36 years of rule?
