Grief and intense anger against the United States erupted at the Grand Mosque in Tehran, where Ali Khamenei's funeral began . A huge crowd paid their final farewell to Iran's supreme leader , and a show of power by the regime, which vowed "revenge" and "death to America."
Those responsible for the assassination of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will not escape "divine punishment and just retribution," said Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi , who led the funeral prayers. Iranians, he added, must not think that the war is over, because the fight against the "front of arrogance" continues.
During the ceremonies, which will last several days, an estimated twenty million people will arrive in Tehran.
Today, three sons of the late Iranian spiritual leader, Mostafa, Masoud, and Meisam, attended the farewell ceremony for the first time , to pray in honor of their father. Also seen in public for the second time in a few days was General Ahmad Vahidi, commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards. He assumed the post after the death of his predecessor, Mohammad Pakpour, killed in Israeli-American attacks on the first day of the war. He had subsequently remained silent, partly out of fear of ambushes by the United States and Israel.
Khamenei's other son and successor, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment, may be present for the burial scheduled for July 9. Negotiations with the US in Pakistan are expected to resume immediately thereafter, according to Al Arabiya, on July 11.
The negotiating issues remain the same: the sanctions against Tehran, the frozen Iranian funds, and the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
(Unioneonline)
