Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei vowed to avenge 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 the US-Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, which led to the outbreak of the Middle East war.

His body was buried at dawn Friday in the city of Mashhad, concluding a six-day funeral ceremony that saw 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 start of the war and was also absent from 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 to avenge 'the blood of all (the dead) of these two wars, from the criminal and shameful murderers,' adding: 'This revenge is the demand of our people.'

He wrote: 'These criminals, whose full 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 absence continues to raise questions about his health and is attributed by some to fears of assassination, added: 'This matter does not depend on my presence or the presence of other officials. Whether we are present or not, this will happen, and soon individuals from the free world will each perform part of this divine mission.'

US President Donald Trump accused Tehran on Friday evening of seeking to assassinate him, warning 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 directed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, followed immediately 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 president of the United States, and in this case, me.'

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

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, the 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 called on Tehran to preserve 'hard-won peace gains' with Washington, as written by Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in a post on platform X.

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on platform X that 'Iran has kept its word so far,' stressing that 'the only way is mutual commitment to their obligations.'

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