Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the recently deceased Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has vowed that vengeance is "inevitable" for the killing of his father and others in what he described as "these two wars." The statement, made following Ali Khamenei's burial in Mashhad on Friday, comes amid heightened tensions between Iran and the United States.
Ali Khamenei was buried after nearly a week of funeral ceremonies. His son has reportedly not been seen in public since before the conflict and is rumored to have been disfigured in the strike that killed his father. However, Mojtaba Khamenei's public statement was uncompromising.
"We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers," he was quoted as saying. "Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out."
He emphasized that the pursuit of retribution was not dependent on his personal presence or that of other officials, stating, "Whether we are present or not, it will come to pass." Those responsible, he added, "will take the wish for a peaceful death in their beds to their graves."
These threats followed an exchange of strikes between the U.S. and Iran earlier in the week, which was reportedly sparked by attacks on three commercial tankers. The exchanges led U.S. President Trump to declare a ceasefire over, although he indicated that talks aimed at ending the war would continue. Open calls for President Trump's assassination were reportedly heard at the funeral. Mojtaba Khamenei's promise of vengeance occurred on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.