Supreme Leader Mojtaba: Revenge for Ali Khamenei must be carried out

The Trump administration has issued subpoenas against several New York Times journalists, after the newspaper published articles in recent days on security concerns relating to the new Air Force One, donated by Qatar to President Trump. The US newspaper has reported this, emphasising that the subpoenas are intended to compel the journalists to testify on Wednesday before a federal grand jury in Manhattan and represent “an extraordinary escalation in President Trump’s efforts to threaten and intimidate independent news organisations”, writes the NYT.

“Revenge is a desire of our nation and must certainly be carried out.” This was stated by Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei in a message written for the funeral and burial of his father, Ali Khamenei, and reported by the Iranian media. “We promise to avenge your pure blood and the blood of all the martyrs of these two wars, at the hands of these criminal and dishonourable murderers,” the statement continues, addressing the late leader.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, in a message issued on the occasion of the funeral of his father, the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has vowed revenge. “His revenge is the demand of the nation and must absolutely take place,” declared the new Supreme Leader, “we are committed to avenging the blood shed by these criminal and dishonourable murderers. This revenge is the demand of our nation and must absolutely take place.” Mojtaba Khamenei added that there is “a complete list, from top to bottom”, of “these criminals”. “These criminals, of whom there is a complete list from top to bottom, will take with them to the grave any hope of a peaceful death or of dying in their own beds. They must know that this matter does not depend on my presence or that of other officials’’ because ‘whether we are here or not, this will happen,’ he added.

“The US and Iranian delegations travelled to Oman today to continue negotiations through mediators, despite the dramatic exchange of fire that caused the truce to collapse.” This is according to CBS News, citing officials, who emphasised that “President Trump’s negotiating team, led by Vice-President JD Vance, Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, is expected to continue talks in Oman on Saturday” with Iran. According to CBS, the US team will be attending the talks on Trump’s instructions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in Oman today.

Iran has no intention of entering into negotiations with the United States until Washington changes its approach: this is according to the Fars news agency, citing sources close to the Iranian negotiating team. “Iran has not requested talks with the United States and there will be no negotiations until the United States abandons its positions,” the sources explained, without specifying exactly what Tehran expects from Washington.

According to the Axios website, which cites officials from the Trump administration, the United States is calling on Iran to publicly recognise freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and to commit to ceasing attacks on merchant ships by Saturday. Against this backdrop, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in Oman for talks on the issue of the Strait of Hormuz.

A new message from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is expected shortly. This is according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, which reports that the message will focus on the farewell to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, who was killed at the end of February on the first day of US and Israeli air strikes against the Islamic Republic. Until last Thursday, for six days, a sea of people in Iran attended the ceremonies to bid a final farewell to Ali Khamenei. There has been no official news of Mojtaba Khamenei, his second son. He has never appeared in public – nor in any video – since taking his father’s place. Since becoming Iran’s Supreme Leader – chosen by the Assembly of Experts on 8 March, nine days after Ali Khamenei’s death – only written messages have been issued in Mojtaba Khamenei’s name; there have been no audio recordings. The first message, read out on Iranian state television, dates back to 12 March. Mojtaba Khamenei, aged 56, was reportedly injured in the initial air strikes against the Islamic Republic. His condition has remained a mystery ever since.

Alcuni automobilisti passano accanto a un cartellone pubblicitario raffigurante il leader supremo iraniano, l’Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in una strada di Teheran, in Iran, il 9 luglio 2026. L’Iran e gli Stati Uniti si sono scambiati accuse dopo che il presidente americano Trump ha dichiarato che il cessate il fuoco è “finito”. EPA/ABEDIN TAHERKENAREH -

The Trump administration is increasingly pessimistic about the prospects of finalising the nuclear deal with Iran. This is according to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which cites senior US officials. The newspaper points out that one of the officials stated that Iran should commit to declaring by today that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that it will stop firing on ships, or else face serious consequences, whilst the other officials interviewed by the WSJ did not specify a precise deadline. The newspaper, referring to the fact that sources consider it increasingly unlikely that a nuclear deal can be reached, emphasises that this is a rare admission that one of the fundamental objectives of Trump’s foreign policy – namely, curbing Tehran’s nuclear programme – may not be achievable through peace negotiations.

Europe is considering proposals that could allow tolls to be levied on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, provided that such tolls are not compulsory and have the backing of the United Nations agency that regulates maritime transport. This is according to The Guardian. The British Deputy Prime Minister, David Lammy, has stated that the imposition of compulsory tolls would be disastrous. However, some of his government colleagues have acknowledged that payment schemes for specific shipping services are permissible on many natural waterways, including the Strait of Malacca and the English Channel. This comes as US officials have called on Iran to issue a public statement affirming that the Strait of Hormuz is open and that ships using this vital corridor will no longer be attacked. Oman, in collaboration with British lawyers, has already drawn up a proposal for the strait that adapts the principles of the Strait of Malacca. Muscat has now offered to send its own legal experts to Tehran to explain the plan in detail. Oman controls most of the navigable waters of the strait and opposes the introduction of a compulsory toll.

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“It is a repeat of what we have seen in recent months, with the Strait of Hormuz blocked by Iran’s unacceptable and insane strategy. The regime in Tehran first makes commitments and then reneges on them, shelling ships. As the war has unfolded, the Iranians have discovered that closing the Strait of Hormuz is their most powerful weapon, because it allows them to inflict damage on the whole world. A new strategy,” said Defence Minister Guido Crosetto in an interview with *Corriere della Sera*. A strategy for which, according to Crosetto, the Trump Administration does not bear ultimate responsibility: “No, the Iranians have taken up the ‘Hormuz card’ because, when they suffered the first attack, they took the war to neighbouring countries, which had done nothing and were opposed to the war.”

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has arrived in Muscat, Oman, for the previously announced talks with Omani officials on developments in the region and, in particular, on the situation in the Strait of Hormuz. This has been reported by the Iranian media.

The Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, has accused the United States of breaching the ninth point of the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran, which stipulates that the United States will not send any further forces to the region following the signing of the memorandum.

The United States is calling on Iran to publicly recognise the Strait of Hormuz as open to navigation from Saturday onwards and to commit to ceasing attacks on merchant ships: this is according to the Axios website, citing sources within the US administration. According to the sources, the message was conveyed directly to the government in Tehran and via regional mediators: “What we are asking is for the Iranians to issue a public statement recognising that all channels of the Strait of Hormuz are open and that they have stopped firing on ships. Either they provide us with this statement, or we will not achieve a positive outcome.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi says that, regarding the ceasefire, “Iran has so far kept its word”. Araghchi’s message was posted on X, where he points out that the US, by contrast, has not done so: “Unlike the US,” he writes, “and the so-called US Treasury Secretary, who is violating paragraph 9 of the Memorandum of Understanding. That violation follows other violations and missteps on the part of the United States.” He concludes by emphasising the need for reciprocity.

US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday that the United States would “completely annihilate” Iran should it attempt to assassinate him or succeed in doing so. “There are 1,000 missiles ready to be launched against the Islamic Republic of Iran, followed immediately by thousands more, should the Iranian government carry out its threat – announced to the whole world – to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the current President of the United States of America – in this case, me”, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. He added: “I have given the order, and the US military is ready, willing and able, for one year – extendable – to completely annihilate and destroy all areas of Iran”.

Iran is reported to have admitted that it was “a group of extremists acting out of control” who attempted to undermine the peace talks and the ceasefire by attacking merchant ships in the Strait of Hormuz and provoking a US response, according to statements made by some US officials to CBS News. “They (the Iranians) returned to the negotiating table and said: ‘We were wrong. We made a mistake. Let’s keep talking’”. The United States wants Iran to publicly declare that the Strait of Hormuz is open and to commit to ceasing fire on merchant ships.