Mourners hold up a poster depicting (from right to left) the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the slain Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, during Ali Khamenei's funeral procession in Najaf, Iraq, on July 8, 2026. Photo Qassem al-Kaabi / AFP Mourners hold a placard depicting (from R) the late founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and current supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei during a funeral procession for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Najaf on July 8, 2026. Crowds thronged the streets of Najaf on July 8 as the coffin of Khamenei moved through the holy city in a procession devoted to Iraq, home to Shia Islam's most sacred shrines. Iran began six days of public funeral ceremonies for Khamenei on July 4, including a dedicated day to neighbouring Iraq, a Shia powerhouse with close ties to Tehran. (Photo by Qassem al-KAABI / AFP)
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said Saturday that avenging his assassinated father and predecessor was ‘’a demand of the nation’’ and vowed that the retaliation ‘’would certainly’’ come, according to a written message posted on his Telegram account.
Mojtaba Khamenei issued the message during funeral ceremonies for his father, Ali Khamenei, held several months after the former supreme leader was killed in a U.S.-Israeli strike on Feb. 28 at the outset of the war in the Middle East.
’’We are committed to avenging the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars against their criminal and dishonorable killers,’’ he said.
His remarks came as Iran and the United States resumed hostilities this week, exchanging their largest strikes since signing a protocol on June 17 that formalized the April cease-fire.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who was wounded in the strike that killed his father and several other family members, has not appeared in public since the attack.
Hacking Lebanese Politics #36: Is Lebanon about to abolish the death penalty?
