Iran’s supreme leader vows to avenge Khamenei’s killing

Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed to take revenge on the United States and Israel for the assassination of his father and Iran’s supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei was killed in an airstrike on February 28, at the beginning of the US-Israeli war against Iran.

“Revenge is the demand of the nation and must certainly be fulfilled,” Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba, said in a written statement. Which was broadcast on government television.

“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leaders and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and infamous murderers,” Mojtaba said. He said Iran’s “retaliation” was “inevitable”.

Mojtaba Khamenei’s statement on Saturday came as Iran held several days of funeral ceremonies for the slain supreme leader.

Mojtaba has not been seen in public since the attack that killed his father. America claims that he suffered serious injuries in the attack that took place in late February.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in the Omani capital Muscat on Saturday to discuss arrangements to guarantee the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media.

The waterway has been largely closed by Iran since the United States and Israel launched war on the Islamic republic in February, and has again become the focus of global attention after a temporary ceasefire between Iran and the US broke down.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadeful has said that Berlin is working with Paris to push forward a new Franco-German policy initiative on Lebanon.

In an interview with the daily newspaper daily Mirror “We want to build a joint policy on Lebanon with France to increase the chances for peace in the Middle East,” Wadful said ahead of next week’s meeting of the German-French Ministerial Council.

The situation in Lebanon, where Israeli forces are fighting Iran-backed terrorist Hezbollah, has been a major obstacle to peace talks between the US and Iran.

The diplomat also said the cooperation between European capitals aims to end “confusion over competencies” when it comes to foreign policy decisions within the EU, adding that the bloc will continue to push for an end to the wars in Iran as well as Ukraine.

“We must now make very serious efforts to resolve both conflicts,” Wadeful said, adding that any conflict will end not on the battlefield but at the negotiating table.

US President Donald Trump has once again threatened to bomb Iran and this time he has accused the country of threatening to assassinate him.

“1000 missiles have been locked and loaded and their target is the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of missiles to follow immediately,” he said in a post on his Truth social platform.

He said Iran has threatened to assassinate him “in many corners of the world.”

If that happens, Trump wrote: “Orders have already been given, and the US military is ready, willing and able, for a period of one year, subject to extension, to completely destroy and annihilate all areas of Iran – praise Allah!”

At the funeral of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, there were open calls for his death and people held placards that read, “Kill Trump.”

Iran has respected its commitments in the armistice with the United States, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in a post on Twitter.

Araghchi said, “Unlike the so-called US Treasury Secretary, who is violating Paragraph 9 of the MOU, Iran has kept its word so far. This violation follows other violations and missteps by the United States. Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance.”

It has been accused of violating the ceasefire between America and Iran.

Washington is demanding that Tehran publicly vow to end attacks on ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, unnamed senior US officials told media outlets on Friday.

The officials, speaking to journalists on condition of anonymity, said they were making progress in talks with top Iranian leaders.

But he stressed that he wanted Iran to issue a statement saying its forces would stop attacking ships in the strait to help ensure progress in the talks.

An official was quoted as saying, “What we are demanding is that the Iranians issue a public statement acknowledging that all access to the Strait of Hormuz is open and that they are no longer firing on ships. They will either give us that statement or we will not have a good outcome for them.”

US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Iran and the United States last week after three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under fire in the strait.

A senior US official told reporters on Friday that Iran said the attacks were from “a rogue part of their system”.

Welcome to DW’s coverage of the latest developments in the conflict between Iran and the United States.

Late Friday, news outlets quoted unnamed US officials as saying that Washington had urged Iran to publicly pledge to stop attacks in the Strait of Hormuz.

Meanwhile, Iran refuted earlier statements by US President Donald Trump, who claimed that Tehran had requested peace talks with Washington.

Stay tuned as we provide updates throughout the day.