Iran's Supreme Leader issued a new written statement Saturday afternoon, demanding that revenge for the killing of his father Ali Khamenei 'must be carried out soon,' according to reports on Iranian Telegram channels. The statement escalates the urgency of earlier calls for retaliation.
Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a new written statement on Saturday afternoon, declaring that revenge for the killing of his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, "must be carried out soon," according to reports on Iranian Telegram channels. The statement, which adds a clear temporal urgency, follows an earlier message from Khamenei at 13:54 Jerusalem in which he described revenge as a "demand of the nation and a divine mission" (as The Zioneer reported). The new language escalates the urgency of earlier calls for retaliation.
The thread of Khamenei's statements began Saturday at 12:31 Jerusalem, when The Zioneer first reported that he was expected to issue a statement. Subsequent reports from Israeli news outlets N12 and ynet, as well as the source Abu Ali Express, detailed Khamenei's written messages: first demanding revenge "must absolutely" take place, then vowing in a formal letter at the conclusion of his father's funeral that "we are committed to avenge his blood," and later stating that revenge is "a demand of the nation and a divine mission." The source base broadened from a single Israeli outlet (N12) to multiple channels, including Iranian Telegram channels, as the language escalated.
The threats from Khamenei follow a series of similar vows from other top Iranian officials since the death of Ali Khamenei. As The Zioneer reported, judiciary chief Mohsen Ezhe'i (July 1, 20:00 Jerusalem), security council secretary Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr (July 2, 09:34 Jerusalem), parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf (July 6, 22:45 Jerusalem), and Khatam al-Anbiya commander Ali Abdollahi (July 9, 16:16 Jerusalem) all issued statements threatening revenge. A Hebrew sign displayed at Khamenei's funeral on July 5 also threatened Shiite revenge, as reported by security analyst Yair Goldblatt.
It remains unclear if or when Iran might act on these threats. The new statement from Khamenei, while adding urgency, does not specify a timeframe or operational plan.
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Source and signal
- Internal intake