Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei will not attend the funeral ceremony of his father, former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, due to security concerns, according to Ayatollah Hakim Elahi, the current leader’s representative in India.
As reported by news agency ANI, Elahi said the decision was made due to Israeli threats and surveillance concerns that would make any public appearance dangerous.This development comes amid renewed tensions between Iran, Israel and the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araqchi on Wednesday issued a sharp warning to Washington after Israeli Defense Minister Yisrael Katz said Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had been “marked to death.”According to reports, Mojtaba Khamenei also missed the funeral of his wife, Zahra Haddad-Adel, who was killed in the US-Israeli airstrike on February 28 that also claimed the life of his father, Iran’s longest-serving leader and global Shiite icon Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at the latter’s home.In a post on the website
He warned that any threat against the Iranian leadership would lead to an immediate response.“The terms of the Islamabad MoU are crystal clear and public for all to see. The US President has committed the US to silence his pets in Tel Aviv. If they ignore their master, Iran will educate them. Any threat against our people and leadership will receive an immediate strong response,” Araqchi said in this post while sharing the text of Katz’s reported remarks.According to the report shared by Araqchi, Katz said on Monday that Iran’s Supreme Leader “has been marked to death.” He also described the Iranians as “good traders,” accused Tehran of trying to extract concessions during the negotiations, and reiterated that Israel would not allow Iran to develop nuclear weapons.“If they do it through an agreement, that is better,” Katz said, according to the text shared by Araghchi.Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts continued in Doha. On July 1, Qatar and Pakistan held separate meetings with US and Iranian negotiators, and “positive progress” was reported on issues related to the 14-point memorandum of understanding.In a post on theIranian authorities are holding a funeral ceremony for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei from July 4 to 9 at locations in Iran and Iraq. Khamenei, Iran’s longest-serving leader, was killed in an airstrike on February 28 in Donald Trump’s Operation Epic Rage, the opening day of the US-Israel war with Iran.
