The situation has worsened since the start of a full-scale war between the United States and Iran. Following the assassination of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a hard-line Iranian newspaper has issued assassination warnings for 13 world leaders, including US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Tehran’s state-run Hamshahari newspaper published a list of these leaders with pictures and names in its online edition.
Ali Khamenei was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, the first day of the war. After his father’s death, his son Mojtaba Khamenei was elected the new supreme leader of Iran.
After his father’s recent funeral, Mojtaba made it clear in a message that Khamenei’s assassination would be avenged. “It is our national duty to take revenge. The criminals on the list will not be allowed to die in peace,” he said.
According to international media sources, Iranian newspapers published a list of 13 leaders immediately after Mojtaba’s message. However, it is not clear whether this list has the official approval of the Iranian government. However, the pictures were removed from the print edition of the newspaper on Sunday.
Apart from Trump and Netanyahu, the list includes British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Marz, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Maloney and the US Secretaries of State and Defense. Mojtaba himself was reportedly seriously injured in the attack that killed Khamenei. He has not been seen in public since the start of the war.
Meanwhile, the battlefield is now wider. The US military launched a retaliatory bombardment after Iran attacked a cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday morning. Iran then retaliated in neighboring countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. The Strait of Hormuz is now the biggest obstacle to the ceasefire talks.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth himself warned of the situation, writing, “Iran made the wrong move, now it’s their turn to pay the price.” In response, Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said bluntly: “The days of unilateral agreements are over. If you don’t listen, you will pay a heavy price this time.”