Iran is the scene of a grand exercise in propaganda: of a grand exercise in propaganda: the funeral of a man of profound evil. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on Feb 28, in a highly precise strike by Israel, the nation he spent his life promising to annihilate.
That it has taken a full four months for his funeral to be held is indicative of the battering Iran has received at the hands of the Israelis and the US.
The images of thousands of people streaming into major cities to mourn the dead ayatollah will no doubt be used by the regime as evidence that it supposedly enjoys the loyalty of the vast majority of Iranians.
But the world should not forget the 30,000 people estimated to have been killed for daring to call for freedom at the start of the year. Tens of thousands are arrested annually, with civilians executed at a blistering rate.
Cracks also seem to have appeared in the ruling elite over the deal with Donald Trump, and the whereabouts of Mojtaba Khamenei, the new supreme leader, remain unknown. The choice of a son of Ali Khamenei to lead the country was a stunning act of hypocrisy for a regime apparently built on opposition to hereditary rule.
Nonetheless, Mr Trump declared one of the goals of the war was regime change and that obviously has not been achieved. Instead, Mr Trump’s ceasefire deal has provided Tehran with a vital economic lifeline, and a proposed $300bn (£220bn) “reconstruction” fund would only shore up the ayatollahs and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.
Any more concessions to Iran’s vile leadership would be disastrous, both for the West and oppressed Iranians.