Iran's "Revenge List" Names Trump, Netanyahu, Meloni in Chilling Graphic

Trump, Netanyahu, Meloni among 13 world leaders featured on Iran's "revenge list"

Tehran, July 13

The online "revenge list", published late on Saturday by Hamshahri, a national Iranian daily newspaper, names 13 foreign leaders whom it portrays as targets following Khamenei's death. This publication coincided with the first public message from his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, since his father's six-day funeral procession last week.

The graphic layout depicts US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with sniper-style crosshair targets superimposed on their foreheads. Beneath them are 11 other leaders shown wearing orange prison uniforms, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, US Central Command Commander Brad Cooper, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, and Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.

In his statement, 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."

Despite the release of the graphic, there was no indication that the list had been officially endorsed by Tehran. Furthermore, Mojtaba Khamenei did not identify the specific individuals he believed were responsible for his father's demise. The successor has not been seen in public since before the outbreak of hostilities and was reported to have suffered injuries in the same strike that killed Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on 28 February.

This publication emerged as several US media outlets reported this week that Iran had planned to assassinate Trump. According to CNN, US officials had been monitoring what it described as a "steady drumbeat" of intelligence about possible threats to Trump. Citing unnamed sources familiar with the intelligence, the broadcaster reported that Israel had shared intelligence with Washington regarding a "specific" assassination plot targeting the US president.

These intelligence reports may also explain why Trump changed aircraft and travelled on an older aircraft while leaving the NATO summit in Turkey. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump said: "They want to take out the US leader - me. I'm on whatever list. I saw this morning I'm on every single one of their lists."

These developments unfolded as the two sides breached the ceasefire, raising fresh questions over the prospects of a lasting agreement. The United States carried out strikes on around 140 targets on Sunday morning in response to attacks on commercial ships in the region.

Tehran claimed the vessels had "disregarded warnings" about an approved route and declared that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the "end of US interference in this region". The strategic waterway carries roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas shipments during peacetime.

Following the US strikes, Tehran also criticised several Gulf nations, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, and Oman. Doha described the attacks on its territory and neighbouring countries as a "dangerous escalation", while Oman's state news outlet reported that the government "affirms its condemnation and denunciation of this attack".

In a post on the social media platform X, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and one of its primary negotiators, wrote, "The era of one-sided deals is OVER. We told you: keep your word or pay the price. Reality is knocking."

— ANI