Iran’s supreme chief makes first public look since conflict : NPR

[ad_1] <img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2170x1447+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1a%2Fe1%2F8d95413641daa65b01a1114702d9%2Fap25186748850827.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/2170x1447+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F1a%2Fe1%2F8d95413641daa65b01a1114702d9%2Fap25186748850827.jpg" class="img" alt="In this photo provided by the Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a mourning ceremony commemorating the death anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday, July 6, 2025." fetchpriority="high"/> Iranian Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a mourning ceremony commemorating the demise anniversary of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, in Tehran, Iran, on Saturday. Workplace of the Iranian Supreme Chief/AP disguise caption

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Workplace of the Iranian Supreme Chief/AP Iran' s Supreme Chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday made his first public look because the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran started, attending a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura.

Khamenei's absence through the conflict instructed the Iranian chief, who has ultimate say on all state issues, had been in seclusion in a bunker — one thing not acknowledged by state media. State TV in Iran confirmed him waving and nodding to the chanting crowd, which rose to its toes as he entered and sat at a mosque subsequent to his workplace and residence within the capital, Tehran.

There was no speedy report on any public assertion made. Iranian officers such because the parliament speaker had been current. Such occasions are at all times held underneath heavy safety.

After the U.S. inserted itself into the conflict by bombing three key nuclear websites in Iran, U.S. President Donald Trump despatched warnings through social media to the 86-year-old Khamenei that the U.S. knew the place he was however had no plans to kill him, "no less than for now."

On June 26, shortly after a ceasefire started, Khamenei made his first public assertion in days, saying in a prerecorded assertion that Tehran had delivered a "slap to America's face" by putting a U.S. air base in Qatar, and warning towards additional assaults by the U.S. or Israel on Iran.

Trump replied, in remarks to reporters and on social media: "Look, you are a person of nice religion. A person who's extremely revered in his nation. You must inform the reality. You bought beat to hell."

Iran has acknowledged the deaths of greater than 900 folks within the conflict, in addition to 1000's of injured. It additionally has confirmed critical harm to its nuclear amenities, and has denied entry to them for inspectors with the U.N. nuclear watchdog.

Iran's president on Wednesday ordered the nation to droop its cooperation with the watchdog, the Worldwide Atomic Power Company, additional limiting inspectors' capacity to trace a program that had been enriching uranium to close weapons-grade ranges. Israel launched the conflict fearing that Iran was making an attempt to develop atomic weapons.

It stays unclear simply how badly broken the nuclear amenities are, whether or not any enriched uranium or centrifuges had been moved earlier than the assaults, and whether or not Tehran nonetheless could be prepared to proceed negotiations with the US over its nuclear program.

<img src="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7088x5119+0+0/resize/1100/quality/50/format/jpeg/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F00%2F33892c734ddab8a48ad557e646ff%2Fap25185605233140.jpg" data-template="https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims3/default/strip/false/crop/7088x5119+0+0/resize/{width}/quality/{quality}/format/{format}/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F20%2F00%2F33892c734ddab8a48ad557e646ff%2Fap25185605233140.jpg" class="img" alt="Iranian Shiite Muslims mourn in a ceremony as water is being sprayed for heat management, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 4, 2025, ahead of Ashoura, a remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein, who was killed in a battle in Karbala in present-day Iraq. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)" loading="lazy"/> Iranian Shiite Muslims mourn in a ceremony as water is being sprayed for warmth administration, in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 4, 2025, forward of Ashoura, a remembrance of the Seventh-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson. Vahid Salemi/AP disguise caption

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Vahid Salemi/AP Israel additionally focused protection programs, high-ranking army officers and atomic scientists. In retaliation, Iran fired greater than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of them intercepted, killing 28 folks and inflicting harm in lots of areas.

Ceremony commemorates a demise that brought on rift in Islam The ceremony that Khamenei hosted Saturday was a remembrance of the Seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussein.

Shiites characterize over 10% of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims, and so they view Hussein because the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein's demise in battle by the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, created a rift in Islam and continues to play a key position in shaping Shiite identification.

In predominantly Shiite Iran, crimson flags represented Hussein's blood and black funeral tents and garments represented mourning. Processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating males demonstrated fervor. Some sprayed water over the mourners within the intense warmth.

Reviews of issues accessing the web NetBlocks, a world web monitor, reported late Saturday on X that there was a "main disruption to web connectivity" in Iran. It mentioned the disruption corroborated widespread person studies of issues accessing the web. The event comes simply weeks after authorities shut down telecoms through the conflict. NetBlocks later mentioned web entry had been restored after some two hours.