A written statement from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei threatened vengeance for the death of his predecessor and father on Saturday, but added that it would depend not only on Iran but also on “free people around the world”.
In the supreme leader’s first public message since funeral ceremonies for his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, began a week ago, the statement read on state television said that vengeance was “the demand of the nation” and “must certainly” take place.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a U.S.-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.
Mojtaba Khamenei, who senior sources have said suffered facial disfigurement and other injuries in the strike, has not been seen by Iranians since he was appointed supreme leader on March 8.
“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,” the statement said.
An exchange of attacks between U.S. and Iranian forces this week has raised doubts over a truce agreed between Washington and Tehran aimed at ending the four-month war. Iran says the deal will ultimately deliver major economic benefits.