Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a mourning ceremony commemorating the demise anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday.
Workplace of the Iranian Supreme Chief/AP
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Workplace of the Iranian Supreme Chief/AP
Iran’s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday made his first public look because the 12-day warfare between Israel and Iran started, attending a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura.
Khamenei’s absence in the course of the warfare recommended the Iranian chief, who has closing say on all state issues, had been in seclusion in a bunker — one thing not acknowledged by state media. State TV in Iran confirmed him waving and nodding to the chanting crowd, which rose to its toes as he entered and sat at a mosque subsequent to his workplace and residence within the capital, Tehran.
There was no instant report on any public assertion made. Iranian officers such because the parliament speaker had been current. Such occasions are all the time held below heavy safety.
After the U.S. inserted itself into the warfare by bombing three key nuclear websites in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump despatched warnings by way of social media to the 86-year-old Khamenei that the U.S. knew the place he was however had no plans to kill him, “at least for now.”
On June 26, shortly after a ceasefire started, Khamenei made his first public assertion in days, saying in a prerecorded assertion that Tehran had delivered a “slap to America’s face” by placing a U.S. air base in Qatar, and warning in opposition to additional assaults by the U.S. or Israel on Iran.
Trump replied, in remarks to reporters and on social media: “Look, you’re a man of great faith. A man who’s highly respected in his country. You have to tell the truth. You got beat to hell.”
Iran has acknowledged the deaths of greater than 900 individuals within the warfare, in addition to hundreds of injured. It additionally has confirmed severe injury to its nuclear amenities, and has denied entry to them for inspectors with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.
Iran’s president on Wednesday ordered the nation to droop its cooperation with the watchdog, the Worldwide Atomic Vitality Company, additional limiting inspectors’ capability to trace a program that had been enriching uranium to close weapons-grade ranges. Israel launched the warfare fearing that Iran was making an attempt to develop atomic weapons.
It stays unclear simply how badly broken the nuclear amenities are, whether or not any enriched uranium or centrifuges had been moved earlier than the assaults, and whether or not Tehran nonetheless could be prepared to proceed negotiations with the US over its nuclear program.
Iranian Shiite Muslims mourn in a ceremony as water is being sprayed for warmth administration, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 4, 2025, forward of Ashoura, a remembrance of the Seventh-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson.
Vahid Salemi/AP
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Vahid Salemi/AP
Israel additionally focused protection programs, high-ranking army officers and atomic scientists. In retaliation, Iran fired greater than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of them intercepted, killing 28 individuals and inflicting injury in lots of areas.
Ceremony commemorates a demise that brought on rift in Islam
The ceremony that Khamenei hosted Saturday was a remembrance of the Seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein.
Shiites characterize over 10% of the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims, and so they view Hussein because the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein’s demise in battle by the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, created a rift in Islam and continues to play a key position in shaping Shiite id.
In predominantly Shiite Iran, purple flags represented Hussein’s blood and black funeral tents and garments represented mourning. Processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating males demonstrated fervor. Some sprayed water over the mourners within the intense warmth.
Experiences of issues accessing the web
NetBlocks, a world web monitor, reported late Saturday on X that there was a “major disruption to internet connectivity” in Iran. It mentioned the disruption corroborated widespread person experiences of issues accessing the web. The event comes simply weeks after authorities shut down telecoms in the course of the warfare. NetBlocks later mentioned web entry had been restored after some two hours.
