Clear Message Sent At Funeral Of Iran’s Supreme Leader

Iran’s public claims that it wants a diplomatic resolution to its conflict with the United States do not match the rhetoric coming from the country’s leadership and supporters, according to U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee.

The Times of Israel reported that a large banner reading “We Will Kill Trump” was displayed in Mashhad, Iran, where former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was buried.

Huckabee said the banner offered a clearer picture of the Iranian government’s true position than its public statements about diplomacy.

“I think it’s important for Americans to understand that what the Iranians are saying and doing is nothing that they haven’t been doing for 47 years,” Huckabee said, according to Fox News.

“This is a long-standing ‘Death to America’ chant that they’ve had. They really haven’t changed.”

Huckabee also expressed skepticism about Iran’s claim that rogue elements, rather than the government itself, were responsible for recent attacks on ships traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.

While some observers continue to argue that moderate voices exist within Iran’s political system, Huckabee said there is little evidence that those figures have meaningful influence over the country’s actions.

He said it would be reassuring to believe that peaceful factions exist within the Iranian government, but “we don’t see any what I would call significant evidence that there is a real peaceful part of the Iranian regime.”

The message coming from Iran’s new supreme leader was similarly confrontational.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father and has reportedly not appeared publicly since taking power, issued a written message through Telegram calling for revenge over his father’s death.

According to The Times of Israel, Khamenei said avenging his father was “the will of the nation” and that retaliation “must inevitably” happen “soon.”