{"id":1068672,"date":"2026-07-04T20:43:25","date_gmt":"2026-07-04T20:43:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1068672\/"},"modified":"2026-07-04T20:43:25","modified_gmt":"2026-07-04T20:43:25","slug":"iran-us-war-latest-mourners-gather-as-six-day-funeral-for-former-supreme-leader-ali-khamenei-starts-in-tehran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1068672\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran-US war latest: Mourners gather as six-day funeral for former supreme leader Ali Khamenei starts in Tehran"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>Fears grow for British couple after almost two months on hunger strike in Iranian jail<\/p>\n

Fears are growing for a British couple detained in Iran<\/a> who have not eaten in nearly two months after their contact with family was cut off.<\/p>\n

Craig and Lindsay Foreman<\/a>, both 53, have been on hunger strike for 55 and 46 days respectively in protest at their treatment inside Iran\u2019s notorious Evin prison.<\/p>\n

The couple were arrested on a once-in-a-lifetime world motorbike tour 18 months ago, and were later sentenced to 10 years<\/a> in prison on espionage charges, which they completely deny.<\/p>\n

Crime correspondent Amy-Clare Martin<\/strong> reports:<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 21:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>How Iran will try to use Khamenei\u2019s funeral to hide cracks in regime<\/p>\n

Iran is keen to present a unified front for the late supreme leader\u2019s funeral, even as analysts warn support for the clerical leadership is waning, writes James C. Reynolds:<\/strong><\/p>\n

However, the supreme leader\u2019s injured son and successor Mojtaba Khamenei is not expected to attend as security concerns hang over the ceremony.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 20:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u2018Send them to Iran\u2019: Trump spokeswoman issues dire assessment of \u2018lazy\u2019 Gen Zers<\/p>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt <\/a>delivered a damning assessment of her fellow Gen Zers, calling them \u201clazy\u201d and suggesting they should be shipped off to serve in Cuba or Iran.<\/p>\n

Leavitt, who has just returned from two months\u2019 maternity leave following the birth in May of her second child<\/a>, agreed with Fox News host Jesse Watters that younger adults have \u201cnever had real jobs and they\u2019re complaining things are expensive in the U.S.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 19:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>What did the late Ali Khamenei symbolise?<\/p>\n

In Iran’s theocratic system, Khamenei was not only head of state and leader of a revolutionary movement, but the earthly representative for Shi’ite Islam’s 12th imam, who disappeared in the ninth century.<\/p>\n

His death in an enemy attack plays into a powerful Shi’ite tradition of martyrdom and mourning. Khamenei’s coffin was unveiled late on Thursday. <\/p>\n

On Friday the coffin was laid in \u200bstate in the great prayer hall built to honour his predecessor, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. <\/p>\n

The coffin will remain in the Mosalla until Sunday evening.<\/p>\n

Burials are meant to be \u200cconducted within a day of death in Islam, but because of the risks of \u2060holding a big funeral during the war it was postponed until after last month’s interim truce deal was agreed. <\/p>\n

After what authorities are billing as a massive procession in central Tehran on Monday, the remains will be taken to the seminary city of Qom, the centre of Iran’s Shi’ite hierarchy, for ceremonies on Tuesday. <\/p>\n

Ceremonies will then be held in Iraq’s shrine cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, with prominent attendees from Iran’s \u200cregional network of Shi’ite proxies. <\/p>\n

He will be buried on Thursday, after another procession, in Mashhad near the tomb of the Imam Reza, a figure of great devotion in Iran. <\/p>\n

Authorities plan to mobilise millions of people for big processions over the \u200bcoming days, offering transport, food and lodging to buoy the numbers and encourage more of Iran’s population of over 90 million to attend commemorations. <\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 18:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>In pictures: Thousands fill the streets of Tehran for Ayotallah’s funeral\"\"(Getty)\"\"(AFP\/Getty)\"TheThe coffins of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family are displayed on a platform above an empty chair at the start of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026. (AP Photo\/Altaf Qadri) (AP Photo\/Altaf Qadri)<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 17:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Critical moment for Iran as funeral takes place<\/p>\n

The funeral is taking place at a critical moment for Iran, where the clerical rulers backed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) are buoyed from surviving what they saw as an existential war against their most powerful foes.<\/p>\n

But behind the veneer of unity and devotion, public support for the Islamic Republic has worn paper thin, analysts say. Mojtaba Khamenei, who has long been close to Iran’s elite IRGC, has not been seen in any \u200cnew image since being wounded in the strike that killed his father. <\/p>\n

Thousands of U.S. and Israeli airstrikes hit a range of military targets, energy and civilian infrastructure during weeks of war that began with the killing of Khamenei on February 28. <\/p>\n

The attacks killed more than 3,000 people in Iran, according to state media. Iran retaliated with strikes on U.S. bases, missiles fired towards Israel and a series of hits on energy targets in Gulf Arab states, while choking oil shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. <\/p>\n

At \u2060least 13 U.S. troops have been killed. <\/p>\n

Thousands more people have been killed across the region in the fallout from the war, notably in Lebanon where Israel continues to fight the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group. <\/p>\n

Israeli attacks and demolitions have flattened vast swathes of civilian areas in southern Lebanon.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 16:00<\/p>\n

<\/a>Iran’s new supreme leader avoids father’s funeral in fear of assassination by Israel- reports<\/p>\n

Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not been spotted at the funeral ceremony for his late father today. <\/p>\n

It is understood that the new supreme leader\u2019s request to attend the processions was rejected by Iran\u2019s security officials due to fears Israel will kill him or track him down. <\/p>\n

The New York Times cited two unnamed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members and a person involved with planning the multi-day funeral. <\/p>\n

\"TheThe new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei (ISNA)<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 15:06<\/p>\n

<\/a>Huge crowds mourn Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran\u2019s capital<\/p>\n

Thousands of people gathered at Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla in Tehran<\/a> on Saturday, July 4, to pay their respects during a public farewell ceremony for Iran<\/a>‘s former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei<\/a>, who was killed in the US-Israeli airstrikes in February.<\/p>\n

Mourners wept, beat their chests and waved flags as the flag-draped coffins of Khamenei and members of his family killed in the same attack were placed in state at the mosque.<\/p>\n

Iran has organised a week of funeral ceremonies and public processions for Khamenei.<\/p>\n

Public farewell events are scheduled for 4 and 5 July, followed by the main funeral procession in Tehran on 6 July.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 14:38<\/p>\n

<\/a>What is going on behind the political scenes of the Ayotallah’s funeral<\/p>\n

The delayed ceremony for the former supreme leader now serves as a critical test for Iran\u2019s embattled theocracy, testing its capacity to mobilise widespread public support- particularly as the event unfolds six months after security forces brutally suppressed nationwide protests against Ali Khamenei\u2019s rule.<\/p>\n

A significant turnout, while desired by the regime, also carries the inherent risk of deadly stampedes. <\/p>\n

Such tragedies have marred previous high-profile funerals, including that of Iran\u2019s first supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An uneasy ceasefire, recently cemented by an interim agreement with the United States<\/a>, is believed to have provided authorities with the confidence to proceed with the ceremony, which will involve the public appearance of top officials. <\/p>\n

Throughout the war, Israel<\/a> targeted and killed senior Iranian leaders, in at least one instance leveraging public appearances to track them.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 13:48<\/p>\n

<\/a>How Trump\u2019s Iran peace process descended into chaos in a week<\/p>\n

Two weeks into the 60-day peace negotiation period<\/a> between Iran<\/a> and the United States and – despite President Donald Trump\u2019s claims of success – little progress has been made.<\/p>\n

Instead, both sides appear to be regressing: hostilities have flared and officials from both sides are no longer directly talking to each other as the clock keeps ticking and key issues, such as Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, remain unresolved.<\/p>\n

Maryam Zakir-Hussain4 July 2026 13:24<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fears grow for British couple after almost two months on hunger strike in Iranian jail Fears are growing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1068673,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5311],"tags":[45789,293051,293050,207950,24156,47671,6178,33650,73682,44888,609,774,457,2249,87270,14532,49,978,659,293052],"class_list":["post-1068672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-united-states","tag-45789","tag-2026-iran-conflict","tag-ayatollah","tag-ayatollah-khamenei","tag-ceremony","tag-color-image","tag-conflict","tag-cultures","tag-flag","tag-horizontal","tag-human-interest","tag-iran","tag-people","tag-photography","tag-state-funeral","tag-tehran","tag-united-states","tag-us","tag-usa","tag-waving-gesture"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116863659456339951","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1068672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1068673"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1068672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1068672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1068672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}