APTOPIX Iraq Khamenei Funeral
Mourners gather in prayer during the funeral procession for the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei inside the Imam Ali Shrine in Najaf, Iraq, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.
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Funeral processions for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have been held in Iraq's holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. Thousands of mourners attended on Wednesday. The Islamic Republic's dayslong funeral began on Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets and airspace in Tehran, Iran's capital. Khamenei was killed in late February in U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran that started the war. Talks between the U.S. and Iran appear to be on hold until after the burial. However, strikes from both sides in the Persian Gulf over the past two days put the interim agreement to end the war at risk of breaking down.
The U.S. military says it is carrying out another round of strikes on Iran after the Islamic Republic attacked ships in the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier. The announcement on Wednesday comes hours after President Donald Trump said that the Iranian attacks signaled the end of a ceasefire. Returning from a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump says that “it will get much worse” if Iran attacks commercial ships in the vital strait again. Iranian state media reports explosions in a number of locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and several southern port cities.
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