An Iranian newspaper published what it called a “hit list” of those allegedly responsible for the killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shortly after a written message attributed to his son, Iran’s acting leader Mojtaba Khamenei, vowed that “revenge will come soon.”
In the image published by Hamshahri, a newspaper owned by the Tehran municipality, U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are shown in orange prison uniforms, with targets marked on their heads.
Hamshahri front page
The paper also published AI-generated images of other senior figures in prison uniforms. The Americans included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.
The Israelis included Defense Minister Israel Katz, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir. European leaders were also featured, including Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
The image was published after Mojtaba Khamenei issued a written message to the Iranian people. He has not been seen publicly, including at his father’s funeral.
“We pledge to avenge your blood and the blood of all those killed in the two wars. This revenge is the will of our nation and must come soon,” he said after the funeral procession for Iran’s leader, who was killed at the outset of Operation Roaring Lion.
Iran’s new supreme leader has not been seen since reports said he was seriously wounded in his face and legs in the strike that killed his father at the start of the war. “Revenge is the demand of our people, and it must be fulfilled,” the written statement published in Iran said.
In recent days, Trump has repeated his claim that he is at the top of Iran’s assassination list. Nearly two weeks ago, Hamshahri published a similar cover showing Trump with the words “certain revenge” and a crosshair on his forehead.
The U.S. president repeated the claim in a speech at the NATO summit in Turkey, and said again in an interview with the New York Post that he had “left instructions” for his administration in case Iran succeeded in assassinating him.
According to the Post, Trump said that “if something happens,” Iran should be bombed “at levels they’ve never seen before.”
On Saturday morning, Trump addressed the issue again on Truth Social, writing that “1,000 missiles” were loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands more to follow immediately if Iran acted on its threats “to assassinate, or try to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, me.”
“Orders have already been given, and the U.S. military is ready, willing and able, for a period of one year, subject to extension, to completely and totally obliterate all areas of Iran,” Trump wrote.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Tasnim news agency again stressed that decisions regarding the Strait of Hormuz would be made only by Iran and Oman. “The Strait of Hormuz lies only within the waters of Iran and Oman, and therefore any decision regarding management of the strait will be made by the aforementioned coastal states,” Tasnim said.
After reports of a Qatari delegation’s visit to Iran, Tasnim said Qatar’s presence was not intended for decision-making. “Qatar’s presence in the talks is consistent with its role as a mediator and with Iran’s dialogue with other countries in the region,” the agency said.