Pakistan PM says US-Iran peace deal to be signed within 24 hours

Iran announced funeral ceremonies for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei more than 100 days after he was killed in Israeli and US strikes, with processions set to begin in Tehran on July 4 and end with his burial in the northeastern city of Mashhad on July 9, state media reported Saturday.

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  Delayed burial, absent successor: Questions over post-Khamenei Iran

The ceremonies for Khamenei and members of his family will be held in Tehran, Qom and Mashhad from July 4 to July 9, according to a statement by the office that publishes his works.

Khamenei’s death in February marked the end of more than three decades at the helm of the Islamic Republic.

Several Iranian bank card services were disrupted on Saturday, with customers reporting failed payments, blocked transfers and POS errors in messages sent to Iran International.

Iranian media reported disruptions affecting cards issued by Bank Melli, Tejarat, Sepah and Saderat. Messages from users also cited problems with Mellat cards and said both online transfers and ATM or card payments were failing.

One shopkeeper said nearly 90% of bank cards had been down for about four hours, leaving customers unable to make purchases.

Another message from Mashhad said banks had been facing disruptions since the morning.

A customer said cards from Bank Melli, Mellat and Tejarat were not working at a shop, while another message said POS devices were showing an “issuer error.”

A member of Iran’s parliament presidium said any memorandum of understanding with the United States must be reviewed by parliament if it becomes an agreement, treaty or similar binding arrangement.

Alireza Salimi said no agreement should violate the Strategic Action Law to Lift Sanctions and Protect the Rights of the Iranian Nation, a law mandating the government to expand nuclear activities if US sanctions are not lifted.

Passed in 2020 after Tehran accused other parties to the 2015 nuclear deal of failing to meet their commitments, the law led Iran to step up uranium enrichment beyond the agreement’s limits and sharply restrict international inspections of its nuclear sites.

Its enrichment provisions were not merely a negotiating tactic. Iran began enriching uranium to 20% in early 2021, breaking the JCPOA limit of 3.65%, and later increased enrichment to 60% during talks with the West to revive the nuclear deal.

Under the same law, Tehran also halted voluntary implementation of the Additional Protocol and restricted inspectors’ access to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear sites.

An Iranian lawmaker said imports through the country’s southern ports are facing challenges because of the naval blockade.

Abbas Soufi, deputy chairman of parliament’s Construction Committee, said the entry of goods through southern ports had been affected by maritime restrictions.

His remarks point to growing economic pressure on Iran’s trade routes as the blockade and tensions around the Strait of Hormuz remain central to Tehran’s dispute with Washington.

Iran has approached at least two Persian Gulf Arab countries seeking arrangements similar to one reportedly discussed with the United Arab Emirates, under which Tehran would halt missile and drone attacks in exchange for economic and security understandings, Reuters reported, citing a source familiar with the matter.

Reuters said the reported UAE-Iran arrangement would include a halt to Iranian attacks on the UAE and a rebuilding of bilateral ties, including intelligence sharing and economic cooperation.

The report said Iranian Revolutionary Guards officials visited Abu Dhabi last week to meet Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the UAE’s national security adviser and deputy ruler of Abu Dhabi, and that UAE officials later traveled to Tehran to discuss details of the mechanism.

Reuters said the reported arrangement marked a tactical shift after weeks in which the UAE had been heavily targeted by Iran during the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic. Iran’s last known direct attack on the UAE was a May 4 strike on Fujairah port.