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Iranian newspaper threatens German Chancellor Merz

Tehran's ultraconservative Hamshahri newspaper has published images of 13 international politicians, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, labeled as 'wanted' in connection with the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The article, which appeared online and was later removed, has prompted German officials to warn of potential Iranian attacks in Europe.

By Tertius News AI Desk 1 outlet · 2 articles Version 1 Coverage Jul 15, 2026 Published Aug 15

Lead

Tehran's ultraconservative newspaper Hamshahri has published images of 13 international politicians, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, describing them as "wanted" for the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to reporting by Deutsche Welle. The article, which appeared online last week, included a statement claiming the politicians would "pay the ultimate price," and has drawn concern from German officials about possible Iranian attacks in Europe.

Coverage Comparison

The story, as reported by Deutsche Welle, centers on the online publication in Hamshahri, a widely read Iranian newspaper. The coverage notes that the list included not only Merz but also US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, among others. In the images, the politicians were depicted wearing orange prison uniforms, a style commonly associated with US detention facilities.

Deutsche Welle's reporting places the publication in the context of ongoing US and Israeli military operations against Iran, which began in early March. The outlet also highlights the German government's response, with officials and the opposition Green Party expressing concern about potential Iranian attacks on European soil.

Key Claims

Hamshahri, an ultraconservative Iranian newspaper, published images of 13 international politicians described as "wanted" for the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among the politicians listed, alongside US President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
US and Israeli attacks on Iran began in early March, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of that campaign.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the late Supreme Leader, has been named as his successor and announced "retaliation" for his father's death.
The Hamshahri article stated: "Retaliation is inevitable. The criminals will take their wish for a peaceful death to the grave." It was not included in the Sunday print edition and was deleted from the website by the beginning of this week.
German government officials and the opposition Green Party have expressed concern about potential Iranian attacks in Europe.
Authorities estimate that around 180 individuals in Germany are active on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards or intelligence services.

Context

Deutsche Welle reports that many European countries have supported the US and Israeli attacks on Iran since February, including by granting permission for flights through their airspace. The outlet also notes that Merz, in early March, said the German government shared the relief felt by many Iranians that the regime was coming to an end, adding: "We share the interest of the United States and Israel in seeing an end to this regime's terror and its dangerous nuclear and ballistic armament." Despite these statements, the regime remains in power, according to the reporting.

How this outlet told it

Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC

Framing: Iranian newspaper publishes death threat against German Chancellor — neutral

Facts Included:

Tehran's ultraconservative Hamshahri newspaper published images of 13 international politicians 'wanted' for the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among the politicians listed
US and Israeli attacks on Iran began in early March
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the campaign against Iran
Mojtaba Khamenei announced 'retaliation' for his father's death
German government officials and the opposition Green Party expressed concern about potential Iranian attacks in Europe
Authorities estimate around 180 individuals in Germany are active on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards or intelligence service

Read the source article →

Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 5:30 AM UTC

Framing: Iranian newspaper publishes death threat against German Chancellor — neutral

Facts Included:

Tehran's ultraconservative Hamshahri newspaper published images of 13 international politicians 'wanted' for the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among the politicians listed
US and Israeli attacks on Iran began in early March
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the campaign against Iran
Mojtaba Khamenei announced 'retaliation' for his father's death
German government officials and the opposition Green Party expressed concern about potential Iranian attacks in Europe
Authorities estimate around 180 individuals in Germany are active on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards or intelligence service

Read the source article →

What was claimed, and who backed it

Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.

Claim	Confidence	Status
ClaimTehran's ultraconservative Hamshahri newspaper published images of 13 international politicians 'wanted' for the death of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimGerman Chancellor Friedrich Merz was among the politicians listed.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimUS and Israeli attacks on Iran began in early March.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimAyatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the campaign against Iran.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimMojtaba Khamenei announced 'retaliation' for his father's death.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimGerman government officials and the opposition Green Party expressed concern about potential Iranian attacks in Europe.	ConfidenceMedium	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC
ClaimAuthorities estimate around 180 individuals in Germany are active on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards or intelligence service.	ConfidenceHigh	StatusSingle-source via Deutsche Welle as of Jul 15, 2026, 3:30 PM UTC

Transparency & Audit Trail

1 outlet · 2 articles consulted: Deutsche Welle 7 claims extracted Version 1 Written 2026-08-15