United States President Donald Trump has threatened to “decimate and destroy all areas of Iran” if he faces any assassination attempt, as a statement from Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei says avenging his slain predecessor and father is “the demand of the nation” and “must certainly” happen.
“We pledge to avenge the blood of the martyred leader and all the martyrs of these two wars from the criminal and disgraced killers,” Khamenei wrote in the statement read out on state television.
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However, despite the exchange of ultimatums and US air attacks on five Iranian provinces earlier in the week, high-stakes diplomatic talks are continuing behind the scenes, and Qatari mediators have travelled to Tehran.
In Oman, Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, met his Omani counterpart, Badr al-Busaidi, in the capital, Muscat, on Saturday.
A post on Araghchi’s official Telegram page said they “exchanged views on appropriate mechanisms for the safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz”, in accordance with the US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Following the meeting, al-Busaidi posted on X that the two sides agreed to continue talks at technical and political levels to reach the necessary agreements in accordance with international law. He said talks were held “regarding navigation in the Strait of Hormuz to ensure its safety and freedom in light of the facts and implications arising from recent developments”.
According to a CNN report, Oman proposed managing traffic in the strait using two separately controlled routes, but the agreement has yet to be finalised.
“Omanis have talked about this formula before, but so far it hasn’t been accepted by Iranians,” said Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran.
“Tehran prefers a single management that includes Iranians and Omanis, as it sees that two separate managements on each side will eventually cause Iran to be bypassed and Tehran to lose its biggest leverage. Today, this was brought up again, but we don’t know how Iran reacted or whether there has been any progress on it,” he added.
US negotiators, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, were also expected to meet Araghchi on Saturday.
Trump: ‘1,000 missiles locked and loaded’
Mojtaba Khamenei, who senior sources have said suffered facial disfigurement and other injuries in the US-Israeli strike that killed his father and four other family members on the first day of the war on Iran, has not been seen by Iranians since he was appointed supreme leader on March 8.
There was no sign of him during the week-long series of processions and formal funeral events for his father that culminated in his burial late on Thursday.
At least 15 million people thronged the streets for funeral processions in Tehran and Qom in Iran, as well as Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, before final burial in Mashhad – his home town. Iranian sources have claimed the total was more than 30 million.
Banners and chants calling for Trump to be killed were widespread at the events.
In a typically bellicose post on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump wrote: “1000 Missiles are Locked and Loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran, with thousands of more to immediately follow, should the Iranian Government act on its threat, pronounced in many corners of the Globe, to assassinate, or attempt to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, ME!”
He added: “Orders have already been given, and the U.S. Military is ready, willing, and able, for a one year period of time, subject to extension, to completely decimate and destroy all areas of Iran – PRAISE BE TO ALLAH!”
Israel warned the US earlier in the week about a new and specific Iranian plot to assassinate Trump, US media reported.
Sources told CNN that the new Israeli intelligence detailed a highly specific, active plot. The Wall Street Journal also confirmed the threat was “fresh”.
Threats and talks
Despite his fiery rhetoric, Trump said talks on finalising a peace deal were continuing. He has also insisted that the provisional ceasefire with Tehran has been over since Iranian attacks on Qatari and Saudi tankers near the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday led to US air raids on Iran and retaliatory Iranian attacks,
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER!” Trump wrote.
In response to the mounting pressure from Washington, Iran’s lead negotiator and Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Tehran would never surrender to the US.
He emphasised that Iran remains fully prepared to defend itself if Washington backs out of the Pakistani-brokered MoU that underpins the unravelling ceasefire.
“We have never stopped preparing to defend our country, and if at any moment the Americans betray the understanding, we are ready for full-scale defence,” Ghalibaf said. “Ending the war is a priority for the countries of the world, but everyone should know that this conflict will never end with Iran’s surrender.”
A flurry of diplomatic activity
Despite reports of ongoing diplomacy – including the expected meeting between Vance, Rubio, Witkoff, Kushner and Araghchi – Iran’s Fars news agency has quoted a source as saying there would be no negotiations until the US retreated from its positions.
A US official has told Al Jazeera that, despite launching attacks this week, Washington remains committed to negotiations with Tehran.
“There is a flurry of diplomatic activity to rescue the stalled talks following the latest round of de-escalation,” said Al Jazeera correspondent Mahmoud Abdelwahed, reporting from Tehran.
“However, Iranian officials remain highly sceptical of American intentions, especially after the latest US strikes and President Trump’s statements.”
Al Jazeera US correspondent Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said “the United States insists that for there to be a deal, Iran must agree to nuclear limits and deliver its nuclear material. Senior US officials say conversations have been productive, but they have issued an ultimatum following recent Iranian targeting of commercial vessels”.
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