Israel’s defense minister earlier claimed that the current Supreme Leader was also “marked for death”
Iran has warned the US and Israel against any attacks during the upcoming funeral processions for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the opening strikes of the war, as Tehran prepares for days of heavily secured mourning ceremonies.
Funeral processions for Khamenei are set to begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and neighboring Iraq.
“We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the US and the Zionist regime, to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country,” Ali Abdollahi, commander of the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, said on Thursday.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz claimed on Monday that Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was also “marked for death,” like his father. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned on Wednesday that Tehran would deliver an immediate and powerful response to any threat against its people or leadership.
The warnings come as indirect US-Iran talks have reportedly been put on pause until after Khamenei’s burial. The latest round of discussions in Doha this week focused on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz and the release of frozen Iranian funds, but there was no sign of major progress toward a lasting peace.
Israel had made targeted killings of Iranian leaders a central part of its war strategy from the outset. The conflict began on February 28 with an Israeli strike that killed Khamenei and several other top officials, based on US intelligence. Israel later killed several figures Washington had hoped to negotiate with, including Ali Larijani, Iran’s top national security official, and Kamal Kharazi, a former foreign minister, according to the report.
While Trump himself repeatedly bragged about the decapitation strikes, US officials feared Israel could similarly try to assassinate Iran’s top negotiators, Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the New York Times reported on Thursday. The concern was so high that Washington allegedly even asked regional intermediaries to warn Tehran.
In June, Washington and Tehran reached a framework agreement aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and setting the outline for follow-up talks on Iran’s nuclear program, sanctions relief, frozen assets, and a longer-term settlement.
Israel has fiercely opposed the process, arguing that the agreement fails to achieve its war aims, including regime change in Tehran, the destruction of Iran’s regional allies, and lasting damage to Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities. Iranian officials have accused Israel of seeking to sabotage the negotiations with ongoing combat operations in Lebanon.
