Iran Vows Retaliation for Ayatollah Khamenei's Death 'at the Right Time'
Iran’s highest security body has warned that those responsible for the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will face retaliation “at the right time”. This was stated as the country prepares to hold a grand funeral for Khamenei.
“The clenched fist of the fallen Leader at the time of his passing will remain an eternal symbol of Iran’s national security doctrine,” said Mohammad Baqer Zolqadr, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, in a statement reported by the Iranian media, Press TV, on Thursday (2/7/2026).
Zolqadr, a veteran commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who was appointed to the highest security position on 24 March following the assassination of his predecessor Ali Larijani in a US-Israel attack, issued the warning ahead of Khamenei’s funeral ceremony.
“The file for retaliation for the sacred blood of the Great Khamenei and the oppressed martyrs of Iran remains open,” Zolqadr asserted.
“The perpetrators and those who ordered this crime will, at the right time—which will not be long from now—face appropriate punishment at the hands of ‘righteous elements’,” he added.
Currently, Iran is preparing to hold a grand funeral ceremony for Khamenei, who died in a United States and Israel attack at the end of February. Large-scale portraits of Khamenei have been displayed at the Grand Mosalla complex in Tehran as workers prepare for the massive ceremony.
Khamenei’s funeral, which had been delayed due to the escalation of war in the Middle East, will take place while Iran and the US are in a period of ceasefire following the signing of a preliminary agreement to end the conflict.
Khamenei, who served as a spiritual figure for many Shia adherents, passed away at the age of 86 at his residence in the centre of Iran’s capital on 28 February, the first day of the outbreak of war.
The funeral ceremony, which will be open to the public, is set to begin this coming Saturday (4/7). Khamenei’s remains will lie in state at the Grand Mosalla complex, officially known as the Imam Khomeini Mosalla, in central Tehran, a location typically used for major Friday prayers, official ceremonies, and large-scale religious gatherings in Iran.
The remains of Khamenei’s family members, who also died in the same attack, will also lie in state there.
According to Iranian officials, the funeral ceremony is expected to be attended by 15 million to 20 million mourners, making it the largest state funeral in the history of the Shia nation.