Anas Sarwar, speaking to reporters in Glasgow, said: “I’m a 42-year-old man, ask me my view not what the old man’s view is.
“I’m really clear that the Iranian regime is a brutal regime – brutal with its own people.
“It’s a threat to its neighbours, it’s a threat to us in the UK.”
The Scottish Labour leader called for a de-escalation of the conflict and for the Iranian people to decide their own future, adding that he had not spoken to his father since he posted the tribute to Khamenei.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said on Sunday that US forces would be allowed to operate from British bases against Iran, but only in a limited role targeting missile sites.
Sarwar, who has called for the prime minister to resign, said the UK had a “duty to make sure we are protecting our allies, protecting our infrastructure, protecting our citizens in these nations and beyond”.
He added that the UK should support defensive – but not offensive – military action.
Mohammad Sarwar, who became Britain’s first Muslim MP in 1997, stepped down from Westminster in 2010, with his son later elected in his place.
Originally from Pakistan, he came to the UK in the early 1970s and became a millionaire through his cash-and-carry business.
After stepping back from UK politics he served two terms as governor of Punjab in Pakistan.