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Meloni on Iranian newspaper Hamshahri's blacklist, Mojtaba Khamenei vows revenge for his father's death

Black and white close-up of newspaper pages with text in Dutch. — Symbolic image · Ylanite Koppens / Pexels

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The Iranian newspaper Hamshahri, owned by the Municipality of Tehran, has published a so-called "black list" containing images of leaders identified as presumed responsible for the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Among those depicted is Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, shown in an orange prison uniform. The list also includes United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, both shown with a target drawn on their foreheads, as well as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, Centcom commander Brad Cooper, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israeli ministers Israel Katz and Gideon Sa'ar, and Israeli military chief of staff Eyal Zamir.

The image was accompanied by the caption "Revenge is certain." Its publication coincided with the release of a message from Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Ali Khamenei and the new Supreme Leader of Iran, issued during the funeral and burial proceedings for his father. In the message, Mojtaba Khamenei stated that revenge is a desire of the Iranian nation and must certainly be carried out, promising to avenge the blood of Ali Khamenei and all the martyrs of the two wars at the hands of those he called criminals and dishonorable assassins.

The episode drew bipartisan reactions from Italian institutions. Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani expressed full solidarity with Meloni, stating that she certainly does not allow herself to be intimidated. Senate President Ignazio La Russa described the event as an episode that strikes not only the person of the Prime Minister but also the democratic values and institutions she represents, calling for the condemnation of all forms of intimidation, incitement to violence, and hate propaganda. Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini declared that whoever attacks Giorgia Meloni attacks everyone, offering total solidarity and condemning the threats from Iran. Chamber of Deputies President Lorenzo Fontana also expressed solidarity and closeness to the Prime Minister regarding the grave and disturbing representation published by Hamshahri.

Depoliticization note

The neutral article reconstructs the event by triangulating facts confirmed across multiple sources of different political orientations. Editorial characterizations such as references to a radical regime newspaper have been removed. The embedded social media post present in one of the original articles was excluded as it contained editorial commentary outside the factual scope. References to the Italian government coalition and opposition have been reframed as bipartisan institutional reactions, since solidarity was expressed across party lines. The headline from one original article attributing the revenge oath directly to Khamenei without specifying which Khamenei has been clarified, as the message was issued by Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the deceased Ali Khamenei and new Supreme Leader.