Iran prepares to say final goodbye to Supreme Leader Khamenei

Iran has warned the United States and Israel against any attack as the country prepares for the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in airstrikes on the first day of the war. The three-day tribute begins Saturday, and authorities expect between 15 and 20 million people to attend in Tehran alone. Once the ceremony concludes, negotiations between Tehran and Washington will resume.

In other regional developments, Syria sought to reassure Lebanon, with its foreign minister visiting Beirut to say Syria would not intervene in Lebanon. The New York Times reported that US officials believed Israel may have been planning to kill Iranian negotiators while they were engaged in talks with Washington this spring. Two senior Iranians were considered particular targets: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. In Israel, calls emerged for a state commission of inquiry into Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack, as the country marked 1,000 days since the deadly event with commemorations and protests. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun defended negotiations with Israel, saying they were not a betrayal and he would not surrender "a single inch of Lebanon's territory."