Iran says funeral for Supreme Leader Khamenei will begin on July 4 amid peace deal rumours
The funeral for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei will begin in Tehran on July 4 and conclude with his burial in the northeastern city of Mashhad on July 9, state media reported on Saturday.
Khamenei, was killed in Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran in February. His death marked the end of more than three decades at the helm of the Islamic Republic.
The start of the funeral will coincide with America’s Independence Day, a major federal holiday in the United States.
Khamenei was killed in the opening salvo of the war that Israel and the United States launched against Iran in late February. He has since been replaced by his son, Mojtaba, who is seen as even less compromising.
The news comes as Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif claimed on Saturday that The United States and Iran have agreed on a framework for a peace deal after more than three months of war and are expected to sign the initial deal in the next 24 hours. Sharif, whose country has been mediating in the war, said Pakistan was preparing for an electronic signing that would be followed by technical-level talks next week.
The U.S. and Iran had signalled on Friday that an agreement to end their war was close, with a senior U.S. administration official saying both sides had agreed on a text and that Washington expected to sign an initial deal in coming days.
“We are closer to a peace deal than ever before. With finalisation likely expected in the next 24 hours, Pakistan is preparing for the electronic signing of the peace deal immediately after, followed by technical level talks next week,” Sharif wrote on X.
“We are confident that this historic peace deal will form a strong foundation for lasting peace.”
The war began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28. Iran then fired on U.S. military targets in the Gulf and Hezbollah militants in Lebanon fired at Israel, triggering a renewal of conflict between Israel and the Iran-aligned group.
The war has killed thousands of people, mostly in Iran and Lebanon, and sent global energy prices sharply higher.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that while changes in the deal were still possible, the tentative agreement showed his country had emerged stronger from the conflict.
“Iran is the winner of the war with the U.S.,” he said on state television on Friday.
Hours after those remarks, U.S. forces shot down multiple Iranian one-way attack drones heading toward the Strait of Hormuz, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the drones had posed a threat to commercial traffic. U.S. Central Command later confirmed the action and said the waterway was open.
The proposed memorandum of understanding calls for reopening the strait and lifting the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, sources on all sides of the talks said. Negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program – U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated rationale for starting the war – would take place afterwards.
