US President Donald Trump issued a fresh threat to Iran during the funeral ceremonies of late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, claiming he could eliminate the country’s remaining leadership with “one shot.”
He added, however, that he would not act on the threat since there would then be “no one left” to negotiate with.
“They are all there. One shot and we can take them all out, but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with… They are begging to make a deal,” Trump told Axios.
“I thought people hated him,” Trump said.
However, Trump was “shocked” to see Iranians cry at the funeral of the late supreme leader, Al Jazeera reported.
He said both sides had agreed to pause negotiations for a week until Khamenei’s funeral concludes, with neither side launching attacks in the meantime.
Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, was killed on 28 February, the day US and Israeli strikes on Iran triggered war in the Middle East.
Speculation over the funeral timeline had circulated since March, as Islamic jurisprudence typically requires burial within 24 hours.
The state of war made this an exception. Iran began funeral rites on 4 July coinciding with the 250th anniversary of US independence with ceremonies scheduled in Qom on 7 July and other religious observances, before burial on 9 July in his hometown of Mashhad.
Millions of Iranians have taken to the streets, making the funeral one of the most closely watched global events. On Saturday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were seen crying during the farewell ceremony.
Trump expressed surprise at the mourning, saying he believed Iranians “hated” Khamenei, and suggested the tears might be “fake.”
Earlier, Trump remarked that the US had given Iran “a week off” for the funeral. “We beat Venezuela in one day, and we knocked the hell out of Iran; they’re dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave him a week off for a funeral because we’re nice,” he said.
Meanwhile, reports suggest Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, will not attend his father’s funeral due to security concerns.
His representative in India, Ayatollah Hakim Elahi, said Israeli threats and surveillance risks made public attendance “dangerous,” according to ANI.
