Hundreds of thousands of Iranians gathered Saturday to begin a days-long funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed by an airstrike on February 28 in a joint operation by Israel and the United States against Iran.
International Attendance
Delegations from dozens of countries attended the Saturday ceremony, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Reza Pahlavi, the former crown prince of Iran, addressed the foreign representatives in a statement on social media, saying the Iranian people are not mourning Khamenei, but rather, the regime is staging a propaganda spectacle.
Khamenei’s body will lie in state for three days, alongside other family members who were also killed in the February strike. He will be buried in his hometown of Mashhad on Thursday.
Regional Tensions
Since Khamenei’s death, fighting across the region has continued despite diplomatic efforts. The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding outlining a 60-day ceasefire, but the truce has remained fragile, with both sides repeatedly accusing the other of violating the agreement.
President Donald Trump addressed the conflict in a recent speech, stating that the U.S. gave Iran a week off for the funeral because ‘we are nice.’
Original reporting: KTBS 3 (Shreveport) — read the source article.
