Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei declared on Saturday his commitment to avenge the death of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He described this as a national duty in a message shared on his official Telegram account and X.
The statement was issued during the funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, held months after he was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28. Mojtaba Khamenei emphasized that the Iranian people remain steadfast in their resolve to seek justice for those who lost their lives in recent conflicts.
He asserted that the deaths of his father and others, which he characterized as casualties of two wars, would not be overlooked. “The nation’s demand is revenge, and it must be fulfilled,” the message stated, affirming Iran’s determination to retaliate against those responsible for the killings of the martyred leader and other victims.
These remarks come amid ongoing nationwide funeral events for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, set against a backdrop of escalating regional tensions involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.
In a significant development, Iran laid Ali Khamenei to rest on Thursday at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, a revered site in Shia Islam located in the country’s northeast. This burial concluded a week of state funeral ceremonies and public processions held across Iran and Iraq.
Thousands of mourners gathered in Mashhad, lining the streets as the funeral procession moved toward the shrine. The crowd, waving Iranian flags and chanting revolutionary slogans, was so large that it slowed the procession considerably. Due to the dense gathering, authorities resorted to transporting the coffin by helicopter for the final segment of the journey, after which senior clerics conducted the concluding prayers at the shrine.
Officials highlighted the massive turnout as a demonstration of enduring support for Iran’s political and religious leadership, nearly five decades after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. These ceremonies unfolded amid ongoing economic challenges, political tensions, and years of public unrest that have tested the legacy of Khamenei’s long rule.
Attention has also focused on Mojtaba Khamenei, who was appointed supreme leader by the Assembly of Experts shortly after his father’s death. Notably, he has not made any public appearances since the February 28 airstrike. Iranian authorities have only released written statements attributed to him, with no photographs, videos, or audio recordings made available. he is recovering from injuries sustained in the attack and remains under strict security measures.
During the burial, mourners expressed strong anti-US sentiments, chanting slogans condemning the United States and demanding retaliation for the strike that killed the former leader. Some chants targeted then-US President Donald Trump, while others displayed banners supporting Iran’s leadership.
The burial in Mashhad marked the conclusion of several days of funeral events, which included ceremonies in Tehran and Qom, as well as processions in the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala. These events honored Khamenei and four members of his family who were also killed in the February airstrike.
