'Macron, Meloni, Trump': Iran newspaper publishes list of 13 leaders as Mojtaba Khamenei vows revenge

In the wake of Mojtaba Khamenei's vow to avenge the killing of his father, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a conservative Iranian newspaper published an infographic naming several foreign leaders, thrusting the rhetoric of retaliation into the international spotlight.

The publication came after Mojtaba Khamenei issued his first public message since his father's funeral, declaring that retaliation was inevitable following the former Supreme Leader Ayatollah's death in US-Israeli strikes on February 28, the first day of the West Asia war.

Mojtaba Khamenei vows retaliation

In his message on Saturday, Mojtaba Khamenei said: "Vengeance is the will of our nation and must inevitably be carried out."

He added: "These criminals, whose names appear on a list, will take to their graves the wish of a peaceful death in their beds."

Although the supreme leader's message referred to a list of individuals to be targeted, it did not identify any names, and there was no indication that the list later published by the newspaper had official government approval.

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Foreign leaders featured in infographic

The Hamshahri newspaper, published by authorities in the Iranian capital, shared an online infographic late on Saturday displaying photographs of 13 foreign leaders alongside Mojtaba Khamenei's statement.

The names included US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The infographic also featured US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, among others.

The graphic did not appear in the newspaper's Sunday print edition.

During the conflict, Iran accused several European countries of failing to condemn attacks on its territory and alleged they were complicit by allowing US military aircraft to use their airspace.

Mojtaba Khamenei has not appeared in public since before the war and was reportedly wounded in the strikes that killed his father.