TEHRAN: Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s first public address after his father’s funeral comes with a “revenge list”, naming 13 world leaders after the death of the country’s late supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The online “revenge list”, published late on Saturday by Hamshahri, a national Iranian daily newspaper, names 13 foreign leaders whom it portrays as targets following Khamenei’s death. This publication coincided with the first public message from his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, since his father’s six-day funeral procession last week.
The graphic layout depicts US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with sniper-style crosshair targets superimposed on their foreheads. Beneath them are 11 other leaders shown wearing orange prison uniforms, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, US Central Command Commander Brad Cooper, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
In his statement, Mojtaba Khamenei said, “Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out.” He added, “These criminals, whose names appear on a list, will take to their graves the wish of a peaceful death in their beds”.
The Islamic Republic’s state-run newspaper, Raja News, has updated its revenge list. The first person on the list is Senator Graham! pic.twitter.com/A2s6d3deOI
— معـ🐍ـمار (@memar1980) July 12, 2026
Despite the release of the graphic, there was no indication that the list had been officially endorsed by Tehran. Furthermore, Mojtaba Khamenei did not identify the specific individuals he believed were responsible for his father’s demise. The successor has not been seen in public since before the outbreak of hostilities and was reported to have suffered injuries in the same strike that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February.
This publication emerged as several US media outlets reported this week that Iran had planned to assassinate Trump. According to CNN, US officials had been monitoring what it described as a “steady drumbeat” of intelligence about possible threats to Trump. Citing unnamed sources familiar with the intelligence, the broadcaster reported that Israel had shared intelligence with Washington regarding a “specific” assassination plot targeting the US president.
These intelligence reports may also explain why Trump changed aircraft and travelled on an older aircraft while leaving the NATO summit in Turkey. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said: “They want to take out the US leader – me. I’m on whatever list. I saw this morning I’m on every single one of their lists.”
These developments unfolded as the two sides breached the ceasefire, raising fresh questions over the prospects of a lasting agreement. The United States carried out strikes on around 140 targets on Sunday morning in response to attacks on commercial ships in the region.
Tehran claimed the vessels had “disregarded warnings” about an approved route and declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the “end of US interference in this region”. The strategic waterway carries roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas shipments during peacetime.
Following the US strikes, Tehran also criticised several Gulf nations, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. Doha described the attacks on its territory and neighbouring countries as a “dangerous escalation”, while Oman’s state news outlet reported that the government “affirms its condemnation and denunciation of this attack”.
In a post on the social media platform X, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran’s parliament speaker and one of its primary negotiators, wrote, “The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking.”
Iranian newspapers are also celebrating the death of Donald Trump’s close ally Lindsey Graham, with Hamshahri going so far as to warn that the US President and other American officials could meet a “sudden death.”
According to the publication, Hamshahri splashed a front page featuring an illustration of President Donald Trump kneeling on one knee beside a picture of Lindsey Graham, alongside US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other senior US and Israeli officials, under the headline “Get Ready for Sudden Death” following the US senator’s death.
Concurrently, the Iranian newspaper Vatan-e Emrooz splashed Graham’s death across its July 13 front page with the headline “Death of the Merchant of Death.”
The daily, detailed that the veteran politician was a key supporter of US policies against Iran and stated that he passed away following what it called a “sudden illness.”
Adding to the rhetoric from Tehran, an Iranian state media newsreader appeared to insinuate Tehran’s involvement in Graham’s death, declaring: “I congratulate the Iranian nation on warmongering anti-Iran US Senator Lindsey Graham being sent to hell.”
These media broadcasts have fuelled conspiracy theories among members of Donald Trump’s MAGA base, with many citing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) earlier death threats against Graham as they called for an investigation into his death. The fierce reaction from Tehran mirrors the late lawmaker’s long-standing status as one of the most outspoken advocates of an aggressive US foreign policy.
The South Carolina senator consistently backed military assistance to Ukraine in its war against Russia, strongly supported Israel during the conflict in Gaza, and repeatedly argued that Iran’s current leadership should be removed from power. He had also courted controversy by suggesting Israel could be justified in using nuclear weapons in Gaza, where the conflict that erupted in October 2023 continued despite a ceasefire agreement reached with Hamas a year later.
Furthermore, following the February 28 attacks on Iran, Graham openly called for the Iranian government to be overthrown. Speaking to Fox News, he said the financial cost of such an effort would be worthwhile, arguing that the fall of the regime would reshape the Middle East and generate significant economic opportunities.
In the weeks leading up to the latest conflict with Iran, Graham travelled to Israel several times and met officials from the country’s intelligence agency, Mossad. He remarked that those meetings provided insights that, according to him, were not being shared by his own government.
According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, Graham also held discussions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during those visits and advised him on how to persuade President Donald Trump to support military action against Iran. Graham later claimed that the intelligence presented by Netanyahu convinced Trump to back the joint campaign.
In the run-up to the hostilities, the lawmaker also urged regional powers, including the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, to participate in military operations against Iran, arguing that both countries possessed the capability to do so, while more recently criticising Saudi Arabia for staying out of the conflict. (ANI)
