Khamenei's other sons appear at his funeral in Iran as new supreme leader remains in hiding

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's apical officials and brothers of the caller ultimate person emerged into nationalist presumption Sunday to be ceremonial prayers for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Their quality signaled assurance successful their information arsenic Iran pushes backmost connected U.S. demands successful negotiations to permanently extremity the war.

Crowds of hundreds of thousands chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” arsenic they called for revenge implicit the Feb. 28 onslaught that killed the 86-year-old ultimate person and different apical officials, triggering the war. Some hard-liners called for the assassination of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Iran’s caller ultimate leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has yet to marque an quality successful the ceremonial ceremonies, which are unfolding implicit respective days. He is believed to beryllium successful hiding aft reportedly being wounded successful the airstrike that killed his father.

At the tallness of the war, earlier an April ceasefire, Israel had targeted apical leaders, successful astatine slightest 1 lawsuit apt utilizing their nationalist quality to hole their position. It has besides threatened to termination the younger Khamenei.

The U.S. is meantime pressing up with negotiations with Iran aimed astatine afloat reopening the Strait of Hormuz and rolling backmost its disputed atomic program.

Ziba Naderi, a 42-year-old caregiver attending the ceremonial Sunday, said Iran needed to heed Mojtaba Khamenei's commands. “I heard the telephone for revenge, but our person should accidental what we request to do,” she said. “And we indispensable perceive to him.”

Top officials look arsenic the assemblage size swells

Ayatollah Jafar Sobhani, a 97-year-old Shiite cleric, led the prayers astatine Tehran's Grand Mosalla for the precocious Khamenei his household members killed successful the strike.

On manus were Khamenei’s different sons, Masoud, Meysam and Mostafa, who haven't been seen since the war. Revolutionary Guard caput Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, who was photographed for the archetypal clip since the warfare connected Thursday, could beryllium seen successful the assemblage by Associated Press journalists, flanked by plainclothes information forces and wearing a achromatic shot cap.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, Parliament talker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf — who has led the negotiations with the U.S. — and Esmail Qaani, who leads the elite Quds Force of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, besides attended.

The assemblage had grown from the time before. Mourners dressed successful achromatic carried banners and flags honoring Khamenei.

Some notation Trump by sanction arsenic mourners telephone for revenge

Posters and graffiti astatine the Grand Mosalla called for the sidesplitting of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Why is the biggest bastard successful the satellite inactive alive?” Mohammad Rasouli, a writer who emceed the lawsuit earlier the prayers, said to the assemblage implicit loudspeakers, referring to Trump. “The satellite is nary longer a bully place” for Trump, helium added arsenic the assemblage cheered.

“I came present to outcry and question revenge,” said Gholamreza Sabooni, a 29-year-old antheral who works successful a grocery. “They killed our imam, we should termination their leader, Trump.”

The U.S. president was giving a code astatine the aforesaid clip crossed the satellite successful Washington, D.C., for the 250th day of America’s founding.

“We’ve had tremendous success,” Trump said astir the U.S. military. “You look astatine Venezuela, you look astatine Iran. We wiped it out, wiped retired their military.”

U.S. national authorities person been tracking Iranian threats against Trump and different medication officials for years. That stems from Trump ordering the 2020 sidesplitting of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who had led the Quds Force. Iran repeatedly has denied plotting to termination Trump, though hard-line propaganda footage agelong has suggested Trump was successful Tehran's crosshairs.

Trump meantime promised to destruct Iran's precise civilization during the war, among different threats.

Funeral postpones talks with US

Khamenei’s assemblage volition beryllium transported to cities successful Iran and neighboring Iraq, with authorities readying to thrust his casket and others done the streets of Tehran connected Monday. Authorities person unopen down streets, airspace and regular beingness for the mourning, which volition extremity Thursday arsenic helium is buried astatine the Imam Reza shrine successful Mashhad, Khamenei’s spot of birth.

Authorities offered nary attendance number for the lawsuit Saturday and Sunday. Other cities crossed Iran besides held mourning ceremonies.

Talks implicit reaching a imperishable extremity to the warfare look to beryllium connected clasp until the extremity of the funeral.

The ceremonial was successful portion a amusement of unity and defiance arsenic Iran demands a measurement of power implicit the Strait of Hormuz, a captious waterway for planetary vigor that it unopen down during the war. The U.S. has rejected those demands, and the sides are divided connected different cardinal issues, including the struggle betwixt Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah successful Lebanon and Iran's atomic program.

The U.S. assisted 70 transits of the Strait of Hormuz implicit the past 72 hours, including 18 connected Saturday, a multinational maritime assemblage overseen by the U.S. Navy said Sunday. It called postulation dependable on routes adjacent Oman and Iran but inactive beneath prewar levels. The menace level remained “substantial” and excavation clearance and surveying enactment continued.

“Our overseas argumentation should not beryllium shaped successful a mode that allows our martyred leader’s humor to beryllium dishonored and different countries tin spend to bash specified things, without immoderate superior effect from our authorities and diplomatic system,” mourner Mohammad Reza Sharifi said.

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Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Cara Anna successful Lowville, New York, contributed.

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