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U.S.-Iran Latest: Slain supreme leader's coffin on display as Iran gears up for dayslong funeral, with peace talks paused - CBS News
From CBS News via USVI News: The flag-draped casket of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was put on display in Tehran Friday with millions expected to attend his dayslong funeral.
What to know about the Iran war today:
- Iran on Saturday officially began several days of public funeral ceremonies for slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As thousands gathered to pay their respects, mourners at the Grand Mosalla prayer complex in the Iranian capital beat their chests and chanted for revenge.
- An estimated 15 to 20 million people, alongside foreign dignitaries and religious leaders, were expected to take part in the ceremonies which will last for several days. Delegations from Hamas and Hezbollah joined the mourning on Friday, with others expected to arrive Saturday.
- Qatari and Pakistani mediators said Thursday the next meetings between Iranian and U.S. negotiators would be scheduled "at the earliest possible time" after funeral commemorations for Iran's former supreme leader. Khamenei was killed in U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, and his funeral is to last from July 4 until July 9.
Crowds sprayed with mists of water as temperature rises in Tehran
With temperatures expected to reach 100 degrees in Tehran, crowds of mourners are being sprayed with mists of water to keep cool in the heat.
Thousands of people, segregated by gender, have filed into the Grand Mosalla complex Saturday morning to pay their respects to the slain supreme leader of Iran, with chants of "death to America" being heard in the venue.
Some carried pictures of Ali Khamenei's face, others flags and banners, while crowds of men rhythmically beat their chests in mourning, which is a common practice at Shiite funerals.
In pictures: Thousands of mourners gather to pay their respects to slain ayatollah
Mourners chant for revenge
Mourners beat their chests and chanted "revenge, revenge" as thousands gathered in Tehran early Saturday for a final farewell to slain supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
His body lay in state on Saturday morning at the sprawling Grand Mosalla prayer complex in the Iranian capital, crowds filed in holding red flags, a symbol of revenge in Shiite Islam.
"We have come not for the funeral but for revenge," a eulogist at the event chanted. "We're never going to give up your blood, which is the reddest line."
The mourners, some in tears, made their way through strict security towards the courtyard where Khamenei's coffin was placed for people to pay their respects.
"We must rise up and, God willing, avenge the blood of our leader," Hamidreza Shabani, an 18-year-old student, said.
Trump says he gave Iran "a week off" for the funeral of slain leader
President Trump said he gave Iran a "week off" for the funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a speech on the eve of July Fourth celebrations.
In his only mention of Iran during the patriotic speech, Mr. Trump said: "We knocked the hell out of Iran, they're dying to settle."
"They want to settle so badly," the president said in his speech at Mount Rushmore. "We gave them a week off for a funeral because we're nice."
Talks between the U.S. and Iran are currently paused, according to Qatari and Pakistani mediators, and would be scheduled to resume after the funeral commemorations.
Iran officially begins several days of public funeral ceremonies for slain supreme leader
On Saturday morning local time, Iran officially began six days of public funeral ceremonies for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, state television reported, with processions due to continue in Iraq before his burial.
Thousands of mourners carrying red banners, a symbol associated with calls for revenge, gathered in the courtyard of Tehran's Grand Mosalla ahead of the arrival of Khamenei's coffin, chanting "death to America" and "revenge, revenge", according to an Agence France-Presse journalist at the venue.
Iranian officials said they expect between 15 and 20 million mourners to join the events, which would make it the biggest state funeral in Iran's history.
This article is republished through the USVI News affiliate desk. Reporting, analysis, and viewpoints are those of the original publisher and do not necessarily reflect USVI News.