Tehran newspaper publishes AI-generated 'hit list' targeting Trump, Netanyahu

Tehran municipal newspaper Hamshahri has published an AI-generated image depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other senior American, Israeli and European officials as targets.

The image showed Trump and Netanyahu in orange prison uniforms with crosshairs marked on their foreheads.

It was presented as a "hit list," and also featured U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz, IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

The publication follows reported vows of revenge by Iran's new, elusive "supreme leader," Mojtaba Khamenei, after the elimination of his father, Ali Khamenei, by Israel and the United States in late February. The image also appeared to mirror Israel's published "hit lists" of Hamas, Hezbollah and Iranian military leaders.

The Israeli Air Force killed Ali Khamenei and more than 40 senior Iranian leaders in its opening strike on Feb. 28.

Mojtaba Khamenei, who was reportedly seriously injured in the Israeli strike, has not been seen in public since the war began, and it remains unclear whether he is leading the Islamic Republic or is even alive. However, a published note attributed to him threatened revenge for the deaths of the former supreme leader and dozens of other senior Iranian officials.

"We pledge to avenge your blood and the blood of all those killed in the two wars. This revenge is the will of our nation and must come soon," the note stated. "Revenge is the demand of our people, and it must be fulfilled."

While the United States and Israel have publicly acknowledged targeting the former supreme leader and senior Iranian commanders, the inclusion of European leaders on the "hit list" suggests Tehran believes other countries also played a role.

Mojtaba Khamenei also did not appear at his father's funeral earlier this week, where crowds chanted "Death to America," "Death to Israel" and called for the killing of Trump and Netanyahu.

Aware of repeated Iranian threats against his life, Trump warned at the recent NATO summit in Turkey and in an interview with the New York Post that he has "left instructions" for the U.S. military that "if something happens," Iran should be bombed "at levels they've never seen before."

In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump again responded to Iranian threats, saying "1,000 missiles" were loaded and aimed at the Islamic Republic, with more prepared for launch if Tehran carried out or attempted "to assassinate, or try to assassinate, the sitting President of the United States of America, in this case, me."

"Orders have already been given, and the U.S. military is ready, willing and able, for a period of one year, subject to extension, to completely and totally obliterate all areas of Iran," Trump stated.

The president has also signaled growing frustration with negotiations with Tehran.

"They're scum, the deal is over," Trump stated earlier this week after the Iranian regime once again violated the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by attacking civilian vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.