TEHRAN - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei has vowed that the Iranian nation will avenge the assassination of his martyred father.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei issued the message on Saturday following the funeral ceremonies for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei. He was martyred on the first day of the joint US-Israeli aggression against Iran on February 28.

“We pledge to avenge the pure blood of the martyred Leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced murderers,” Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said. He stressed that avenging their blood is “the demand of our nation and must certainly be carried out.”

Before the February 28 aggression, the US and Israel also launched a war on Iran in June 2025. Thousands of people, most of them civilians, were killed in the acts of aggression. 

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said those responsible “will take to their graves the dream of a peaceful death in bed,” adding that the pledge “does not depend on my presence or that of other officials.”

He added, “Whether we are here or not, this will be realized, and soon, freedom-loving people across the world will each carry out part of this divine mission.” 

He hailed the massive public participation in the funeral of the martyred Leader. “I sincerely appreciate the presence of tens of millions of people in the cities and villages of Iran and Iraq, especially Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala, and Mashhad.”

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei described the turnout as “astonishing, enemy-breaking, and historic.”

He stressed that the Iranian nation will preserve the legacy of the late Leader. “With tearful eyes and broken hearts, as we bid farewell to your body, we pledge to preserve your school of thought and steadfastly follow the straight path you charted, fearing no hardship and placing our trust, as you did, in God’s promises.”

Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei was laid to rest at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS), the eighth Imam of Shia Muslims, in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Thursday. 

Addressing Imam Reza, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei described his martyred father as “a humble servant” who had dedicated everything to his faith and to serving the Imam.

The burial of the martyred Leader followed a historic procession through Mashhad, where millions of devotion-driven mourners flooded the streets, turning the city into a vast sea of red and black. Waving crimson flags that symbolize the enduring path of martyrdom, they called for avenging the blood of the innocent. 

The majestic multi-day funeral rites originally commenced on July 3 at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla in Tehran, where the Leader’s body lay in state as high-ranking foreign dignitaries, heads of state, and global religious figures arrived to pay their respects, completely shattering Western attempts to isolate Iran diplomatically. On July 6, millions of Iranians choked the avenues of the capital for the funeral procession before the ceremonies moved on July 7 to the holy city of Qom.

The funeral then moved to neighboring Iraq, where historic, million-strong farewell ceremonies brought the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala to a complete standstill. Millions of Iraqi believers accompanied the flag-draped coffins to the holy shrines of Imam Ali (AS) in Najaf, and subsequently to the shrines of Imam Hussein (AS) and Hazrat Abbas (AS) in Karbala, underscoring the enduring unity of the Axis of Resistance.