Iran's new religious leader Mojtaba Khamenei declared that revenge would be taken for the killing of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei. In a written statement, Khamenei said, "Revenge is the will of our nation and it will surely happen."
In his first message after the funeral of his father, who died in US-Israel attacks in late February, Mojtaba Khamenei said, "This matter is not dependent on my personal existence or that of other officials. Whether we are here or not, it will happen." He added that they had compiled a list of people to be targeted.
Hours before Khamenei's remarks, US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social that any assassination attempt against him would lead to the US "completely destroying" Iran. Trump said, "1,000 missiles are locked and loaded on the Islamic Republic of Iran; thousands more will immediately follow if the Iranian government carries out its threat, voiced in many corners of the world, to kill or attempt to kill the US President." He added, "The orders have already been given and the US military is ready, willing and able to completely destroy and annihilate all regions of Iran for a period of one year."
In this atmosphere of mutual threats, mediators are trying to revive diplomacy. According to Iran's Tasnim news agency on Friday, a delegation from Qatar visited Iran to strengthen its mediation role. Trump, meanwhile, said negotiations with Iran would continue but described them as "a waste of time."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that Tehran has remained committed to its obligations following the memorandum of understanding signed between the two sides last month. Araghchi said, "Iran has kept its word so far. The truth is that there can only be mutual compliance."
The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the biggest obstacles to an agreement. Iran had closed the strait to commercial ships in retaliation for US-Israel attacks during the war. The closure of this passage, critical for the oil and gas exports of energy-rich Gulf countries, deeply affected the world economy. Iran insists on controlling the passage of ships and has announced it will charge fees, while stating that there will be no return to the pre-war free navigation. Washington rejects this stance.
According to US-based news outlets Axios and Politico, Washington gave Iran until Saturday to cease fire on commercial ships passing through Hormuz and accept that the waterway is open. This week's mutual attacks erupted after Iran was accused of targeting three ships that deviated from the Iran-approved route. Following the attacks, the US military struck about 90 targets across Iran. According to Iran's Health Ministry on Saturday, 17 people were killed and 115 injured in the US strikes. The attacks also triggered a wave of retaliation by Iran against US allies in the Gulf that host American military bases.
Qatar, despite being one of the Gulf countries targeted in the war, is leading efforts to revive diplomacy. It was reported that the Emir of Qatar met with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday. Sharif also said he had spoken with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and asked him to preserve the "hard-won peace" in the region.
Meanwhile, Iran's chief negotiator in talks with Washington, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, was quoted by Iranian officials as saying, "Ending the war is a priority for the world's countries, but everyone should know that this conflict will not end with Iran's surrender." Ghalibaf added that the Iranian people are fully prepared to defend themselves.
