Iran pledged to avenge the assassination of former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a written statement attributed to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei on Saturday.
“We pledge to avenge your pure blood and the blood of all the martyrs of these two wars by holding their criminal and disgraced killers accountable,” the statement read, adding that such vengeance was “the demand of [the Iranian] nation.”
The statement went on to threaten the “criminals,” saying they “will take their dream of dying peacefully in their beds with them to their graves.”
“They must understand that this matter does not depend upon my presence or that of any other officials,” the statement added.
According to the statement, there are people around the world willing to take revenge.
"Soon, free people throughout the world will each carry out part of this divine mission."
Conflicting reports emerge regarding negotiations
This comes a day after US President Donald Trump posted that Iran had asked to continue negotiations with the US.
Additionally, CBS News reported US officials stating that Iran had told Trump advisers that the attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz were a mistake on Friday.
According to the report, Iran blamed the attacks on a sect of hardliners trying to sabotage negotiations.
"They came back to the table and said, 'We screwed up. We made a mistake. Let's keep talking,'" one official told CBS.
"We're definitely in a wait-and-see moment," another official added.
Statements emerged on Iranian media on Saturday disputing these reports, with IRGC-affiliated Fars News citing an informed source as saying that Iran had not submitted any request for negotiations.
Additionally, the source reportedly stated that Iran will not enter into any negotiations until the US backs down from its positions