Iran's Pezeshkian condemns global silence over Israeli actions in Middle East

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Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has criticized the Middle East’s instability as well as the international community’s inability to prevent Israel from attacking several nations in the region.

Speaking at a ceremony marking the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, Pezeshkian said Iran’s new leadership has a responsibility to strengthen Islamic unity among Muslim nations, according to Al Jazeera.

Two Palestinians were killed in separate Israeli drone strikes in Gaza on Saturday evening, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

Medical sources said one person was killed after a drone targeted a group near the Asqoula junction in Gaza City.

Another Gazan was killed in a strike near the Abu Sharikh roundabout in the Jabalia refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has called for the immediate implementation of the Gaza ceasefire agreement signed in Sharm el-Sheikh last October, while also urging support for the US-Iran MoU signed in Switzerland, Al Jazeera reported.

Sisi also emphasized the importance of protecting both the Gaza ceasefire and the US-Iran agreement from any actions that could derail them, saying their success is vital to preserving stability across the Middle East.

The Egyptian president highlighted he economic impact of regional tensions, revealing that Egypt has lost more than $10 billion in Suez Canal revenue due to Houthi attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea.

In a post on X, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi described the event as a “historic commemoration.”

Araghchi has praised the international turnout at the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying representatives from more than 70 countries attended the ceremony, “who chose to participate in honouring our supreme leader.”

He added that the attendance of delegates, including those from what he called “friendly Arab nations,” reflected strong diplomatic ties and would remain “an everlasting memory in the course of our shared relations.”

US President Donald Trump said he was surprised by the large crowds mourning Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He said he had expected a different public reaction.

“I was shocked,” Trump told Axios in a phone interview. “I thought people hated him.”

Trump also claimed that Washington and Tehran agreed to temporarily pause negotiations until after Khamenei’s funeral. According to Trump, both sides refrained from military action during the funeral proceedings.

“Neither side will shoot the other during the funeral proceedings,” he told Axios.

Trump further said he could target everyone attending the funeral but chose not to do so, saying, “I could eliminate everyone there, but then there will be no one left to negotiate.”

Iran news LIVE: India has withdrawn an order imposing curbs on gas suppliers as supply of liquefied natural gas has resumed from the Middle East, it said in a notification issued on Saturday.

India in March invoked emergency measures to divert gas supplies from non-priority ​sectors to key users after the ‌disruption of LNG shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran news LIVE: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Middle East peace efforts could not succeed without regional backing and that Israel must not be allowed to “dynamite” the U.S.-Iran peace deal.

Speaking alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Istanbul, Erdogan said: “No solution that does not take strength from the will and contributions of regional countries can be lasting.”

Turkey, a NATO member and Iran’s neighbour, has repeatedly accused Israel of trying to undermine the U.S.-Iran deal mediated by Pakistan, and has condemned Israeli operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria. “We are closely following the Israeli administration’s attempts to dynamite the (U.S.-Iran) deal… The current war-addicted Israeli government must not be allowed to drown our geography in the smell of gunpowder and blood again,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan also said Turkey aimed to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in energy, transport, critical minerals, information technology and defence, while pursuing a bilateral trade target of $5 billion.

Earlier on Saturday, officials from both countries attended a business forum in Istanbul. Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkish firms wanted to contribute to projects in Pakistan and share Turkey’s energy-sector expertise as Pakistan undergoes a transformation of its electricity sector.

via Reuters

Iran news LIVE: US President Donald Trump has said that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had asked him for a meeting at the White House, and that it could take place as early as next week after the NATO summit in Turkey. He said this in an interview with Axios news.

Iran news LIVE: Even as millions gathered for the funeral ceremony of slain Iran leader Ayatollah Khamenei, there has been no sign of his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed his post as Iran Supreme Leader following Ali Khamenei’ assassination. Mojtaba hasn’t made a public appearance since then and some reports have said that he suffered grave injuries in air strikes that killed his father, wife, sister, brother-in-law and niece.

Iran news LIVE: Vast crowds of Iranians loyal to the Islamic republic massed in Tehran on Saturday for the start of marathon funeral ceremonies for supreme leader Ali Khamenei, with authorities seeking to send a message of defiance after the war with the US and Israel.

Khamenei, who had ruled Iran since 1989 and pursued a course of confrontation with the West while crushing dissent at home, was killed aged 86 along with several members of his family and top officials in an Israeli strike on the first day of the war on February 28.

Clad in black and waving blood-red flags seen as a call for vengeance and justice under Shia Islam, mourners thronged the Grand Mosalla religious complex in the Iranian capital where his body is lying in state, AFP correspondents said.

There was still no sign, however, of his son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since being named supreme leader.

Other top Iranian officials who survived the war welcomed foreign dignitaries who paid their respects at the coffin on Friday before the complex opened to the public.

via AFP

Iran news LIVE: Representatives of Iran-backed groups Hamas and Hezbollah attended the funeral ceremonies of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Saturday and met with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to Iranian state media.

Araghchi earlier shared photographs of his meetings with representatives of the two groups on his official Telegram channel, with the meetings taking place on the sidelines of the funeral ceremonies in Tehran.

(TheTimes of Israel)

Iran news LIVE: Oil prices are falling sharply across global markets as a peace agreement between the United States and Iran unleashes fresh crude supplies, tipping the market into surplus and fuelling expectations of a global oil glut.

The sharp reversal marks a dramatic shift in the oil market. Just three months ago, the world’s key physical oil benchmark had surged to a record high, while only weeks ago industry executives were warning that global crude inventories were running dangerously low.

Now, with additional supply entering the market and buyer demand failing to keep pace, prices are sliding amid growing concerns of oversupply.

Iran news LIVE: Iran’s ambassador to Beijing said China and other friendly nations will be granted “special considerations” when Tehran determines the level and nature of service fees charged to ships using the Strait of Hormuz.

Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said the critical waterway for energy supplies is now a matter of “national security” in the aftermath of the four-month US and Israeli war on the Islamic Republic. As such, “there will be new arrangements concerning the Strait of Hormuz with the collaboration and cooperation of the state of Oman,” he said.

“We will definitely have special considerations for China, because China is a friendly country,” Fazli said Saturday at the World Peace Forum in Beijing, without specifying what those concessions would entail. “Special treatment we should award to countries which are friendly to us.”

The future management of the Strait of Hormuz is among several contentious issues being discussed as part of negotiations to secure a permanent end to the conflict. Iran effectively closed the strait when the US and Israel began airstrikes in late February, with traffic only recently picking up following an interim peace deal signed last month.

via Bloomberg

Iran news LIVE: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun on Saturday urged the United States to stand by Lebanon as it seeks to implement a US-backed framework aimed at permanently ending hostilities with Israel following the latest Israel-Hezbollah war.

The framework, agreed in Washington, proposes the disarmament of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group, a phased Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon, and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the area, beginning with two designated “pilot” zones.

Hezbollah, however, has rejected the proposal, arguing that it does not include a clear timetable for Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.

Iran news LIVE: Iranian authorities are preparing for the possibility that the week-long funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei could leave between 1,500 and 3,000 people dead, Germany’s WELT reported, citing a classified document and municipal sources in Tehran.

The report, filed from Tehran by an anonymous author whose identity is known to WELT’s editors, said officials have drawn up contingency plans amid fears of a possible mass-casualty incident during the funeral processions for the slain former Supreme Leader.

According to WELT, a classified letter sent by the Iranian Red Crescent and the country’s National Crisis Management Organization to First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Aref estimated that the ceremonies could result in between 1,500 and 3,000 deaths, prompting authorities to prepare emergency response measures.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: Tens of thousands of Iranians gathered at a sprawling outdoor prayer complex in Tehran on Saturday to pay their final respects to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ruled the Islamic Republic for 37 years before being killed at the outset of the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Dressed in black and carrying Iran’s red, white and green flags, mourners held up posters and printed photographs of Khamenei and his son and successor as supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, as they queued to view the late leader’s coffin.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: Iran’s state broadcaster has described the farewell ceremony for former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as the beginning of the “Great Khamenei Era.”

Speaking on Saturday, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), Payman Jebeli, said extensive arrangements had been made to cover the mourning ceremony live, according to Press TV.

Jebeli said more than two dozen satellite news gathering (SNG) units had been deployed at key locations to broadcast the event. He added that over 30 mobile broadcast units, each equipped with six to 12 cameras, had been stationed along the route of the farewell procession to ensure comprehensive coverage.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: Thousands of people gathered in Tehran early on Saturday to pay their final respects to supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. During the funeral, mourners beat their chests and repeatedly chanted, “revenge, revenge”.

“We have come not for the funeral but for revenge,” a eulogist at the event chanted. “We’re never going to give up your blood, which is the reddest line.”

Many of those attending were in tears as they passed through tight security to reach the courtyard where Khamenei’s coffin had been placed for the public to offer their respects.

“We must rise up and, God willing, avenge the blood of our leader,” Hamidreza Shabani, an 18-year-old student, told news agency AFP.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: His body will lie in state at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla on Saturday and Sunday. On Monday, it will be taken in a funeral procession through the streets of Tehran before being moved to the Shia seminary city of Qom, about 120 kilometres south of the capital. Funeral ceremonies will continue there on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Khamenei’s body will be taken to Karbala in Iraq, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, who is regarded by Shia Muslims as a symbol of resistance.

The day also marks the anniversary of the protests against Khamenei’s rule, during which thousands of people were killed by security forces.

After the ceremonies in Karbala, Khamenei’s body will be taken to Mashhad, Iran’s second largest city.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: More than 10 million people, including representatives from over 100 countries, are expected to attend the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, officials in Tehran expect.

Khamenei was killed along with members of his family at the start of the US-Israel war on Iran.

Iran’s embassy in India shared visuals from Tehran’s Grand Mosalla, where large crowds gathered to pay their final respects to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: Iran began the public funeral processions on July 4, the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.

While officials did not comment on the timing, crowds gathered in Tehran chanted: “Death to America!”, a slogan that has been widely used in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the takeover of the US embassy and the hostage crisis.

“We knocked the hell out of Iran,” US President Donald Trump said during a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. “They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral.”

Trump was also a focus of attention in Tehran. At the Grand Mosalla, several mourners held a large flag carrying the message: “#KillTrump.”

Khamenei funeral LIVE: Schools across Tehran have been opened to accommodate people travelling to attend the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

According to Iran’s ISNA news agency, the country’s education minister said more than 5,000 schools and around 40,000 to 50,000 classrooms across the country have been made available to welcome pilgrims attending Khamenei’s funeral.

More than 10 million people, including representatives from over 100 countries, are expected to gather in Tehran for the funeral.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: “We knocked the hell out of Iran,” US President Donald Trump said during a speech at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.

“They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral.”

Trump was also a focus of attention in Tehran. At the Grand Mosalla, several mourners in the crowd held up a large flag carrying the message: “#KillTrump”, Associated Press reported.

Khamenei funeral LIVE: The foreign minister of Afghanistan’s Taliban government and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif paid their respects at the coffin of Iran’s slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Friday, Iranian state television showed.

Foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi’s visit came only hours after Ahmad Massoud, the leader of an anti-Taliban group, arrived in Tehran. His father had received backing from Iran during the 1990s.

Sharif, whose country has been acting as a mediator in United States-Iran talks aimed at permanently ending the conflict, was accompanied by army chief Asim Munir and a delegation during the visit to Khamenei’s coffin.