President Trump has declared that Iran will receive a “weeklong vacation” during the funeral proceedings for its deceased supreme leader. This multi-day event may attract up to 15 million attendees.
Speaking from Mount Rushmore on Friday, the eve of the nation’s 250th anniversary, Trump noted, “We beat Iran to the teeth, but they want to settle down. They really want to reconcile.” He added, “We gave them a week off for the funeral, and I think that would be great.”
Officials announced that negotiations between the U.S. and Iran are set to resume in Pakistan on July 11. These discussions are expected to delve into Iran’s nuclear program, the sanctions against Tehran, and the billions in Iranian assets currently frozen abroad.
Iran has indicated it will determine its representative for these talks following Khamenei’s funeral.
Despite an interim peace agreement reached on June 17, which intended to halt mutual attacks after an Iranian missile struck a merchant ship in the Strait of Hormuz on June 25, tensions remain high. This agreement aimed to restore vital oil shipping routes, but fighting resumed soon after, escalating further.
Only one in-person meeting, led by Vice President J.D. Vance, occurred in Switzerland before the violence flared up once more.
Just last weekend, Iran targeted U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain with missiles and drones. In response, Trump warned that “there may come a time when we will be forced to carry out militarily the mission we have successfully begun,” asserting that if that were to happen, “the Islamic Republic of Iran will no longer exist.”
Khamenei’s funeral rites, which began in Tehran with a vigil, will continue until his burial on July 9 in his hometown of Mashhad. The turnout is anticipated to be immense, rivaling the crowds seen in late December and January during protests over regime change and deteriorating living conditions.
Khamenei’s body has not yet been buried despite his assassination over four months ago during a significant Israeli and U.S. airstrike on a Tehran compound, which ignited the Iran war. Concerns about potential security risks to remaining regime leaders influenced the timing of his funeral.
Meanwhile, Khamenei’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei, now the newly appointed supreme leader, has reportedly taken bail due to fears of being targeted in an Israeli attack, according to the New York Times.
