Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued a strong vow of retaliation on Saturday, declaring that avenging the death of his father and predecessor is both “the demand of the nation” and something that “must certainly” happen.
The statement was shared through a written message posted to Khamenei’s Telegram account, timed to coincide with funeral ceremonies for his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on February 28.
“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” Khamenei wrote in the message.
The ceremonies marking the elder Khamenei’s passing were held months after he was killed in those strikes, with his son now leading the country as Supreme Leader.
