Iran’s supreme leader on Saturday vowed revenge for the US-Israeli killing of his father and predecessor, hours after President Donald Trump warned against any attempt to assassinate him.

Both sides dialled up the rhetoric after exchanges of fire this week rocked an interim agreement aimed at ending their war, which broke out in late February with massive US-Israeli strikes.

Trump has declared the ceasefire over, while mediators have been trying to salvage diplomacy, with Iranian media reporting that a delegation from Qatar travelled to Iran on Friday.

“Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out,” Mojtaba Khamenei said in a written message.

He became Iran’s supreme leader after his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in late February by US-Israeli strikes, but has not been in public since before the war.

“This matter depends neither on my personal existence nor on that of other officials. Whether we are present or not, it will come to pass,” he wrote in his first message since his father’s funeral this week.

He said Iran had compiled a list of individuals to be targeted.

Hours earlier, Trump had posted on his Truth Social platform that any attempt to assassinate him would lead the United States to “completely decimate” Iran.

“1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!,” Trump wrote.

“Orders have already been given, and the US Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran.”

With both nations stepping up their threats, mediators have been working to bring diplomacy back on track. Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Friday that a Qatari delegation was visiting Iran to “try to reinforce Qatar’s role as a mediator”.

Trump has said talks with Iran will continue, but has labelled them “a waste of time”.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, insisted Tehran had stuck to its end of the bargain after the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding last month.

Tehran “has so far kept its word”, he said. “Reality check: There can only be mutual compliance.”


US and Iranian delegations have held one round of direct talks in Switzerland since the signing of their memorandum of understanding, as well as indirect negotiations in Qatar, but there has been no sign of diplomatic progress since.

A key roadblock to a final deal is the future of the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed to commercial shipping during the war in retaliation for US-Israeli strikes.

The waterway is a key conduit for oil and gas exports out of the energy-rich Gulf countries, and its closure has heavily impacted the world economy.

Iran insists on controlling the passage of ships and has announced plans to charge fees, saying there will be no return to the free navigation of the pre-war era, which Washington has rejected.


Under customary international law, states are not generally permitted to charge tolls on straits used for international navigation.

Araghchi on Saturday arrived in Oman, which sits on the other side of Hormuz, for talks on administering the strait.

News outlets Axios and Politico reported that Washington has given Tehran until Saturday to stop firing on commercial ships transiting Hormuz and acknowledge the waterway is open.

This week’s exchange of strikes was sparked after Iran was accused of targeting three vessels it said had deviated from its approved route.

The attacks prompted Washington to launch a heavy round of bombing in Iran, hitting around 90 targets across the country, according to the US military.

The US strikes killed 17 people, Tehran’s health ministry said Saturday, and injured 115 more. They also triggered a wave of reprisals by Iran against US-allied countries in the Gulf that host American military bases.

The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran early Thursday, and Tehran responded by targeting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in crossfire that again threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Persian Gulf.

The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the fragile ceasefire. The U.S. struck a variety of military sites and port facilities early Wednesday after Iran targeted several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman, sparking Iranian fire then as well.

But Thursday’s attacks appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least twice in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters. There was no immediate word of damage in the three Gulf Arab countries. Kuwait’s military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait.

US strikes hit more targets

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit some 90 targets across Iran, releasing black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes on an airport runway and missile launchers.

“U.S. forces remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to execute operations directed by the Commander in Chief,” it added.

The U.S. says the strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik.

In Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, at least three people were killed, state media reported. In Iranshahr, authorities said a strike had killed a firefighter at an airport. Those fatalities followed at least nine people being killed in Wednesday’s strikes in Iran.

For the first time since April, it also appeared the U.S. strikes targeted Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran’s northeastern Golestan province, and the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges had been attacked on the route to Mashhad, where officials plan to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday. But it wasn’t clear if the Golestan attack was the same one mentioned by the Guard.

Trump warns that ‘it will get much worse’ if attacks on shipping happen again

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote.

Trump had said earlier in the day that the latest back-and-forth fighting would not result in “long-term” military action.

“Anything that happens is going to happen very fast,” Trump said, though he also suggested the U.S. military might “just finish the job.”

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric plants and desalinization plants, and to seize the oil-production hub of Kharg Island.

After three tankers were hit Tuesday, the U.S. launched strikes on Iran, and Iranian forces retaliated by targeting American military sites in the Persian Gulf.

Iran has asserted that the interim ceasefire deal gives it the right to manage traffic through the strait. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit.”

Strikes raise fears that war could resume

Trump fueled concerns that the war could restart by saying the interim agreement to pause fighting was “over,” although he added that he would allow negotiations to continue.

Attacks have repeatedly threatened the shaky ceasefire, but Trump’s comments added new uncertainty, and oil prices shot up after he spoke. A renewed conflict could engulf the wider Middle East and would likely again halt energy shipments through the strait.

“For me, I think it’s over,” Trump said when asked about the status of the ceasefire. He added that U.S. representatives can continue negotiations, but he cast doubt on the outcome. “They can talk, but I think they’re wasting their time,” he said.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, also a top negotiator, retorted on X that Trump’s remarks “are not a sign of power but an admission of the failure” of U.S. policy toward Iran.

Trump has made other threats to seize Kharg Island, including last month, when he also questioned whether the U.S. “has the stomach for it.” Some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass through the island.

The new attacks on ships in the strait, despite the negotiations, could reflect a divide among Iran’s leadership. Hard-liners seek lasting control over the waterway, which is a globally important conduit for fuel shipments and has become a critical lever in confronting the West. Pragmatists want a permanent peace deal to lift international sanctions and provide desperately needed economic relief.

Negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after the funeral for Khamenei, who was killed Feb. 28 in the war’s first moments. The funeral, which ends Thursday, was supposed to be a period of lower tensions.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Credit: US News

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday the ceasefire with Iran was “over” following major exchanges of fire between US forces and the Islamic Republic.

Trump blasted Iran as “scum” and “cuckoo” after Washington launched strikes on the Islamic Republic overnight and Iran’s Guards said they had targeted US bases in the Gulf.

Oil prices jumped five percent after Trump’s remarks.

“I think it’s over. I don’t want to deal with them any more, they’re scum,” Trump said at a NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara when asked if the truce with Iran was now finished.

“They’re scum, they’re sick people, they’re led by sick people, and they’re vicious, violent people. And if they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”

Trump said he would speak to businessman-turned-negotiator Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, who have been dealing with the Iranians, but insisted it was up to Tehran to return to the table.

“As far as I’m concerned, it’s just a waste of time dealing with them. They’re liars.”

Trump accused the Iranians of repeatedly misrepresenting what had been agreed in the ceasefire that Washington and Tehran signed on June 17.

“Everyone’s agreed, no nuclear weapon. We make a deal. They go outside, joke to the press, they say we never even talked about it. There’s something wrong with them, they’re cuckoo,” Trump added.