U.S.-Iran Peace Talks Halt During Ali Khamenei Funeral as Iran Prepares Mass Rites in Tehran

U.S.-Iran peace talks were on hold during Ali Khamenei's funeral, with CBS News reporting the pause as the ceremonies began.

“What to know about the funeral of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei Mourners in Iran are preparing for a dayslong funeral for the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the war with the U”

ABC News

The funeral preparations followed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei being killed in an airstrike on the first day of the joint U.S.-Israeli war, and the Washington Post said Iran feared for four months it was too dangerous to lay him to rest.

ABC News

NBC News reported that Mojtaba Khamenei, named as successor in March, is not expected to attend his father’s funeral, and it said he suffered severe injuries in the strike that killed Ali Khamenei.

NBC News also said the funeral began on Friday with a visit to Khamenei’s casket by the heads of the three branches of the Iranian government, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

In Tehran, the funeral preparations were framed as a test for Iran’s ability to summon mass support, with NPR saying the dayslong funeral would begin Saturday and draw millions into the capital’s streets.

As the funeral week began, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told state media that “We must rise and raise the cry for the nation’s blood to the world so that the world knows that the honorable and noble nation of Iran does not remain silent in the face of oppression,” according to CNN.

CNN also quoted Ghalibaf writing that “An epic feat that will show the greatness of a nation’s spirit to the world.”

Al Jazeera

Fox News reported that the U.S. agreed to halt talks with Iran for a week as the funeral for Khamenei began, linking the pause to the start of the ceremonies.

NBC News reported that Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned the two countries “to avoid any miscalculations and to think about the harsh and regret-inducing reactions” they might face.

Masrawy reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned on Friday that any miscalculation will be met with a decisive and more crushing response than ever before.

Authorities expect public mourning and grand processions to attract millions before Khamenei’s burial next week, and Le Monde with AFP said the ceremonies would run for a week after he was killed aged 86 at his compound in the opening U.S.-Israeli salvo.

Le Monde with AFP reported that Khamenei will lie in state for three days, and it said his body will be taken to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala before his burial on July 9 at the shrine of Imam Reza in Mashhad.

Al Jazeera reported that the funeral was scheduled for March but was delayed due to the war on Iran, and it said a public ceremony is set for Saturday in Tehran followed by a procession through holy cities in both Iran and neighbouring Iraq.

Al Jazeera also said Iranian authorities expect millions of people to flood the streets of Tehran starting Saturday, and it quoted a comparison to the 1989 funeral of Khamenei’s predecessor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, attended by an estimated 10 million people.

Masrawy said Tehran fears that any attack on the crowds could result in thousands of casualties, and it added that the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization announced that the airspace over Tehran will be completely closed on Monday in tandem with Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies.