TEHRAN, July 12, 2026 (AFP) – A conservative newspaper in Iran known for its provocative tone has published a list of people to be targeted as revenge for the killing of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, including the leaders of the US, Israel and European countries.
US-Israeli strikes killed the late ayatollah on February 28, the first day of the Middle East war, and his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed revenge.
“Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” Mojtaba said on Saturday in his first message since his father’s funeral this week.
“These criminals, whose names appear on a list, will take to their graves the wish of a peaceful death in their beds.”
The Hamshahri newspaper, which is published by authorities in the Iranian capital, released an infographic online late Saturday featuring photos of 13 foreign leaders alongside Mojtaba’s statement.
The supreme leader in his message said Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted, but did not offer names, and there was no suggestion the newspaper’s list was officially endorsed.
The infographic includes US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, among others.
It does not appear in the paper’s Sunday print edition.
Also on the list are US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.
During the war, Iran accused European countries of failing to condemn attacks on its territory, and of being complicit by allowing US military aircraft to fly through their airspace.
Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since before the war, and was reportedly wounded in the strikes that killed his father.
Publish Date: July 12, 2026
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