An Iranian newspaper known for its hardline and provocative stance has published the names and photographs of several foreign leaders it says should be targeted in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, following the outbreak of the US-Iran war.
Ali Khamenei was killed in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, the opening day of the conflict. His son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has since vowed that those responsible will face retribution.
In his first public message since his father’s funeral earlier this week, issued on Saturday, Mojtaba Khamenei declared that revenge was unavoidable.
“Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” he said.
“These criminals, whose names appear on a list, will take to their graves the wish of a peaceful death in their beds.”
Later on Saturday, the Hamshahri newspaper, which is published by the authorities in the Iranian capital, shared an online infographic displaying photographs of 13 foreign leaders alongside Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement, news agency AFP reported.
Although the supreme leader said Iran had prepared a list of individuals to be targeted, he did not identify anyone by name. There was also no indication that the list published by the newspaper had been officially endorsed by the Iranian government.
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Who’s on the list?
Among those featured in the infographic are US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The online graphic does not appear in the newspaper’s Sunday print edition.
The list also includes US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the agency further reported.
Throughout the war, Iran accused several European governments of failing to condemn attacks on its territory and alleged they were complicit by allowing US military aircraft to transit through their airspace.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since before the conflict began and was reportedly wounded in the strikes that killed his father.
US-Iran war: Latest updates
Earlier on Sunday morning, the United States attacked Iran over an Iranian strike on a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz that set the container ship ablaze and forced its crew to abandon it.
Iran apparently responded with attacks targeting Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
The strait has become the key sticking point in any further negotiations between Iran and the United States to reach a permanent end to the war that began on Feb 28.
The new crossfire in the Persian Gulf comes days after US President Donald Trump suggested an interim deal in the Iran war was “over”.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote online: “Iran made a poor choice. Now they pay.”
Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament and a main negotiator, responded.
“The era of one-sided deals is OVER,” he wrote on X. “We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
(With inputs from AFP)
