JERUSALEM, Israel – As Americans celebrated 250 years of independence on the Fourth of July, Iran began the days-long funeral for the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the beginning of the Iran war in February.
Thousands of mourners gathered for the funeral in Tehran on Saturday. Khamenei, who headed the Islamic regime since 1989, died on February 28 in a joint U.S.- Israeli airstrike in the opening volley of Operation Epic Fury, known in Israel as Operation Roaring Lion.
Pro-regime demonstrators carried signs calling for the end of the U.S.A. and urging, “Kill Trump.” The crowd also chanted, “Death to Israel” and “Death to America.”
On Monday, mourners again gathered in Tehran ahead of the funeral procession that will transport Khamenei’s body to cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq.
On the sidelines of the funeral, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met separately with leaders of its regional terrorist proxies, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and the Houthis.
He told the leader of Hamas that Iran would continue to support the Palestinians until the establishment of a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital.
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In an interview with Fox News Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that there is no rift between Israel and the U.S., and that unlike many of America’s allies, Israeli soldiers fight alongside American troops.
“I think America has no greater ally than Israel and Israel has no greater ally than the United States,” he stated.
Netanyahu continued, “And let me tell you this: President Trump is the leader of the United States. He does what is good for America. I am the leader of the Jewish state. I do what’s good for Israel. Ninety-nine percent of the time we see eye-to-eye, but as in any family, in any close friendship, there are sometimes differences of opinion.”
In an interview with Axios, President Trump said he and Netanyahu “get along very good,” and that the Israeli leader “knows who the boss is.” He confirmed that he would soon meet with Netanyahu.
When asked about the comment, the prime minister replied, “The real question is, do we have differing goals when it comes to Iran, and the answer is ‘no,’ we are set on the same goal. We want to see Iran give up its nuclear weapons program. We want to see the nuclear-enriched material removed. We want to see the enrichment sites for the nuclear material dismantled.”
Meanwhile, President Trump is heading to Turkey this week for a NATO summit. Recently, there has been much inflammatory talk coming out of Turkey, following Israel’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923.
In an interview with CNN Turk, Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, said, “The people of Israel have become a burden that humanity can no longer bear.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar called the statement “a clear incitement to genocide.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog announced that he’s got news for the minister.
“My answer to him is simple: Israel is here to stay, and it is a blessing to the world. Israel stands on the front line against the terror that threatens the entire world. Our innovations and inventions bring welfare and good to billions around the world,” Herzog said.
In Ramallah, Palestinian Authority officials rejected the Gaza Board of Peace decision that UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency) would no longer be involved in the new Gaza.
UNRWA is accused of hiring many Hamas terrorists who took part in the October 7th, 2023, massacre of Israelis and foreign nationals.
