Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were confronted this week by opponents of talks with the United States during the funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, The New York Times reported.
Pezeshkian was jostled on Monday by a crowd of critics who shouted, “Death to the appeaser,” as he attended the procession, according to videos posted on social media and shared by his office. The footage showed Pezeshkian swaying and appearing dazed as his security detail escorted him from the scene and pushed back the crowd.
That same day, Araghchi was struck by a rock as he was chased down an alley during the funeral events, according to the NYT. Footage circulating on social media showed a group of flag-waving assailants pursuing the top diplomat while shouting insults and calling for his death.
Regime officials and supporters called for the arrest of those who attacked the president and foreign minister and urged the judiciary to hold the assailants accountable.
Burial rites for Khamenei, which began on July 3, are scheduled to conclude on Thursday with his burial at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad.
The final stage of the funeral was delayed by several hours after days of public ceremonies that drew hundreds of thousands of mourners across Iran and Iraq, the NYT reported on Thursday.
The report cited Iranian state media as saying the delay followed large crowds in the Iraqi cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday.
The American military struck about 90 military targets in Iran on Wednesday in response to Tehran’s continued attacks on commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Targets included “air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline,” US Central Command said shortly before midnight on Wednesday night.
“The latest strikes follow successful execution of offensive strikes in Iran the night before,” CENTCOM said. The strikes “further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz,” it added.
Hours before the strikes began, US President Donald Trump said that negotiating with Iranian regime leaders was “just a waste of time,” calling them “liars,” “scum,” and “sick people.”
“If they had a nuclear weapon, they’d use it,” Trump said. “As far as I’m concerned, it’s over.”
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