Iranian Embassy mocks Trump, says US 'has no honor'
What's the story
The Iranian Embassy in Armenia has hit back at United States President Donald Trump after he claimed the US could take out Iran's leadership in "one shot." The embassy said that the US would never understand the mourning over former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's death as it "neither has a civilization, history, nor honor." The embassy also compared Khamenei's death to breaking a perfume bottle whose scent spread everywhere.
Diplomatic remarks
What did Trump say
In an interview with Axios, Trump expressed surprise at the thousands mourning Khamenei, saying he thought people hated him. He claimed the US could take out Iran's leadership in "one shot" but chose not to for diplomatic reasons. "They are all there. One shot, and we can take them all out. But we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with," Trump said.
National mourning
Khamenei's burial to take place on July 9
Khamenei's body is currently lying in state in Tehran, with mourners and foreign dignitaries paying their last respects. He was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28. His burial will take place in Mashhad on July 9 after a week-long funeral procession through several cities, including Tehran, Qom, Najaf, and Karbala. The elaborate funeral has been seen as a display of national unity amid regional tensions.
Cultural practices
Thousands attend funeral
The funeral has drawn massive crowds, with thousands weeping and chanting slogans in accordance with Shiite mourning traditions. The coffins were placed on a white stepped dais under an ornate arched backdrop, flanked by Iranian national flags and black mourning banners. This reinforced both the religious and political significance of the occasion. Khamenei's death has further strengthened the narrative of martyrdom central to Shiite tradition, where public mourning serves as an expression of collective grief and resistance.