Iranian leader Mojtaba Khamenei pledged revenge for the blood of his father and predecessor Ali Khamenei, following the most intense exchange of strikes with the United States since the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two sides on June 17.

Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, which triggered the Middle East war.

His body was buried at dawn Friday in the city of Mashhad, concluding six days of ceremonies that included funeral processions at prominent Shiite shrines in Iran and Iraq.

In a letter dated Friday and published by the official news agency IRNA on Saturday, Mojtaba—who has not appeared in public since the war began and also missed his father's funeral—said: 'We pledge to avenge your pure blood... This revenge is the will of our nation, and it will inevitably happen.'

He also threatened revenge 'for the blood of all the dead of these two wars, from the criminal and disgraceful killers,' adding: 'This revenge is the demand of our people.'

He wrote: 'These criminals, whose complete list of names from first to last exists, will carry with them to their graves the wish to die a peaceful death in their beds.'

Khamenei, whose continued absence raises questions about his health, with some attributing it to fears of assassination, added: 'This matter does not depend on my presence or the presence of other officials. Whether we are here or not, this will happen, and soon free individuals around the world will each perform part of this divine mission.'

US President Donald Trump accused Tehran on Friday evening of seeking to assassinate him, threatening that the United States would 'completely' annihilate Iran if it attempted or succeeded.

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He wrote on his Truth Social platform: 'There are 1,000 missiles ready to launch and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, immediately followed by thousands more, if the Iranian government carries out its threat, announced in various parts of the world, to assassinate or attempt to assassinate the current US president, in this case me.'

He added: 'I have given the orders, and the US military is ready, willing, and able for one year (renewable) to completely annihilate and destroy all of Iran's areas.'

Mediation between Tehran and Washington

The exchange of threats comes as countries mediating between Tehran and Washington seek to revive the diplomatic option.

After signing the memorandum, Americans and Iranians held two rounds of talks: the first directly in Switzerland, and the second indirectly in Qatar, but they made no progress.

In an attempt to revive negotiations, a Qatari delegation arrived in Iran on Friday, according to Tasnim news agency, while Pakistan urged Tehran to preserve 'hard-won peace gains' with Washington, as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote in a post on X.

For his part, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that 'Iran has kept its word so far,' stressing that 'the only way is the mutual commitment of both sides to their pledges.'

Fars news agency quoted a source close to the Iranian negotiators as saying that 'no negotiations will take place until the American side revises its positions,' adding that it was necessary to resolve the 'issue of passage through the Strait of Hormuz according to the conditions desired by Iran.'