ALBAWABA – Millions of mourners filled the streets of Tehran on Saturday for the official funeral services for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, more than four months after his death, in one of the greatest public gatherings in the country’s recent history.
State television claimed the festivities started in the early morning as throngs dressed in black flooded into the city. Turnout was estimated by Iranians at between 15 and 20 million people, and during the parade participants could be heard yelling anti-American and anti-Israeli slogans.
At the funeral, U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran was making big moves toward a political settlement with Washington and that the United States gave Tehran a week-long reprieve after recent military operations to allow the state funeral to proceed.
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said the Israeli leader had spoken by phone with Trump, and the two sides agreed to meet in the United States soon.
In a separate development, the Israel Defense Forces reported it conducted new airstrikes on Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon. Israeli military actions since March killed 3,01 people and wounded more than 12,000 others, the Lebanese Health Ministry said.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun told reporters in Beirut that the framework agreement with Israel proposed by the United States would not legalize Israel’s ongoing military presence in Lebanese soil, but would instead allow the Lebanese Army to reinstall complete state authority across the country.
