Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has declared that avenging the death of his father is "the demand of the nation" and "must certainly" take place. This message was released in writing on the 56-year-old's Telegram account.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28 and was mourned in funeral events throughout the week. The younger Khamenei is understood to have been injured in the same attack that killed his wife, sister, and father.

In his message, Mojtaba Khamenei stated, "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 cleric has not been seen since the start of the war, leading to speculation about his health and leadership capacity.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump escalated threats of missile attacks against Iran in a series of posts on his Truth Social account, stating, "1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat... to assassinate... the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!"

The Wall Street Journal and other US media reported that Israel shared intelligence with Washington indicating Iran had recently devised a plan to assassinate Trump.

In diplomatic developments, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to Oman for talks, following Qatari mediators' visit to Iran amid ongoing regional strikes.

Sources