Iran-US relations: ‘People can be killed, but ideals not’: Iran condemns Donald Trump’s ‘one-shot’ threat to leader at Khamenei’s funeral
Iran strongly denounced US President Donald Trump on Sunday after he claimed Washington could eliminate the country’s senior leadership gathered at the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei “in one fell swoop” and accused the United States of lacking “civilization, history or honor”.The Iranian embassy in Armenia responded sharply, posting a strongly worded message on X defending the late Iranian leader and criticizing Trump’s comments.The embassy wrote: “People can be killed, but ideals cannot. You killed Ayatollah Khamenei, but in fact, you broke a perfume bottle and the smell of the perfume bottle spread everywhere.”It added that the United States, which celebrated its 250th Independence Day on July 4, could not comprehend the scale of public mourning because it had “neither civility nor history nor honor.”
Trump questions condolences, says U.S. may target Iranian leader
The diplomatic spat followed Trump’s comments in an interview with Axios, in which he said he was surprised by the large crowds attending Khamenei’s funeral.“I thought people hated Khamenei. Maybe these were fake tears,” Trump said, according to ANI.He also claimed that the remaining Iranian leaders attending the funeral could be targeted if the United States chooses to do so.“They’re all there. One shot and we can take them all out. But we’re not going to do that because then we have no one to negotiate with,” Trump was quoted as saying.Trump also said that the suspension of U.S.-Iranian diplomacy during the funeral was a mutual decision made by both parties, and suggested that the two sides would resume negotiations after the week-long mourning ceremony.
The funeral attracted a large number of people to watch
Khamenei was laid to rest in Tehran, where thousands of mourners and foreign dignitaries gathered to pay their last respects.The former supreme leader, who was killed in a US-Israeli airstrike on February 28, is scheduled to be buried in Mashhad on July 9 after funerals in Tehran, Qom, Najaf and Karbala.The state-organized ceremony drew huge crowds, with mourners crying, beating their chests and chanting slogans, in keeping with Shiite mourning traditions.The coffin was placed on a white terrace under an ornate arch and flanked by black mourning banners and Iranian flags, underscoring the religious and political significance of the funeral.Iran viewed the funeral as a show of national unity and resistance at a time of rising regional tensions.Khamenei’s death in an enemy attack further reinforced the narrative of martyrdom in Shiite history, with public mourning, funeral processions and collective expressions of grief symbolizing shared resistance.“Death to America” ​​was chanted at the ceremony as mourners held up portraits of Khamenei and his successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, describing the funeral as a moment of national defiance, even as diplomatic contacts continued between Tehran and Washington.
