Iran's supreme leader vows revenge for slain predecessor and father

TEHRAN: Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has issued a written statement promising retaliation for the killing of his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying the response was being demanded by the nation and would inevitably be carried out.

In his first public message since funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei began a week ago, Mojtaba Khamenei said the assassination would not go unanswered. The statement, read on state television, came after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28 at the outset of the war.

Referring to those killed in the conflict, the statement said vengeance was not limited to the role of the Iranian state alone. It added that people beyond Iran would also play a part. The message said retaliation was the demand of the nation and that it must certainly take place.

In the statement carried by state television, Mojtaba Khamenei said:

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 also said:

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,

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since he was appointed supreme leader on March 8. Senior sources have said he was injured in the same strike that killed his father.

The latest statement came as renewed exchanges between US and Iranian forces this week cast doubt over a truce reached by Washington and Tehran to end the four-month war. Iran has said the agreement would ultimately bring major economic benefits.

Despite the latest escalation, US President Donald Trump said on Friday that although the ceasefire was over, the two sides had agreed to continue talks.

Mojtaba Khamenei became supreme leader with the support of the Revolutionary Guards. His father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had ruled Iran for 37 years. State media reported on Friday that he was buried at the country's holiest shrine after large crowds attended his funeral.