Hardline cleric urges revenge for Khamenei at any cost

Iran’s acting defense minister Majid Ebn al-Reza said Tehran signed a ceasefire understanding at the request of friendly regional countries despite its distrust of the United States, the semi-official ISNA news agency reported Saturday.

He said the Islamic Republic would give a “necessary and decisive” response if commitments under the understanding are violated.

Ebn al-Reza made the remarks in a meeting with Malaysia’s Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu, who traveled to Tehran as a special envoy to attend Ali Khamenei’s funeral.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said peace efforts in the Middle East would not succeed without support from regional countries and warned Israel must not be allowed to undermine the US-Iran peace deal, Reuters reported Saturday.

Speaking alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Istanbul, Erdogan said no solution “that does not take strength from the will and contributions of regional countries” could be lasting.

“We are closely following the Israeli administration's attempts to dynamite the deal,” Erdogan said, adding that Israel’s government must not be allowed to plunge the region into “gunpowder and blood” again.

Ali Khamenei's funeral procession would be held by land, Brigadier General Hasan Hassanzadeh, the organizer of the funeral in Iran's capital, said on the state TV Saturday.

Gholamhossein Mozaffari, governor of Khorasan Razavi province, had earlier said provincial security officials proposed holding the procession in Mashhad by air to reduce crowding and ease security concerns.

The remarks drew wide reactions on social media.

Iran’s exiled prince Reza Pahlavi said Iran was not mourning Ali Khamenei's death as foreign representatives gathered in Tehran for the slain Supreme Leader’s funeral Saturday.

“To the foreign representatives in Tehran to mourn Iran’s deceased dictator, Ali Khamenei: Iran is not mourning him,” Pahlavi said in a post on X.

"Iran is mourning more than 40,000 sons and daughters slaughtered on January 8 and 9 by Khamenei, Ghalibaf, and their machinery of repression," he added, referring to the deadly crackdown on Iran's January uprising.

“The regime is spending vast amounts of the Iranian people's wealth to stage this propaganda spectacle, yet not a single democratic leader attended,” he added.

Pahlavi said what is visible in Tehran is not national grief for Khamenei but “righteous anger,” adding that such anger and “heroic bravery” will bring down the remaining “criminal regime.”

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the Islamic Republic would continue Ali Khamenei’s path and pursue justice against what it called “American and Israeli criminals” as the slain supreme leader’s funeral continued Saturday.

“The martyrdom of our great leader is not the end of the road, but the beginning of a new stage on the path of the elevation of Islam and our beloved Iran,” the ministry said in a statement.

The statement added seeking accountability over the alleged crimes would remain a permanent demand for the Islamic Republic.