Millions expected at funeral procession for Iran’s slain supreme leader in Tehran, as Israeli attacks on Gaza and Lebanon continue.
Thousands Gather in Tehran for Second Day of Ali Khamenei's Funeral Ceremony
Iran’s parliament speaker says the US and Israel were “forced to practically” acknowledge Iran’s regional allies in the recently signed MoU.
Mohammad Ghalibaf made the comments during a meeting with Yemen’s Vice President Mohammed Al-Nuaimi.
“The United States and Israel were forced to practically recognise Iran’s allies in the Axis of Resistance, and this is one of the achievements of this memorandum,” Ghalibaf said.
He added that the memorandum was a “defeat for the United States and an achievement for the Axis of Resistance, both militarily and politically”.
Iran’s regional network of armed groups, known as the Axis of Resistance, includes Hezbollah in Lebanon, Yemen’s Houthis, Hamas in Gaza and Shi’ite groups in Iraq.
Ghalibaf warned that the US and Israel would “resort to war” if they perceived any Iranian weakness.
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
Israel’s military activity in Lebanon is continuing, despite the fact that there is a ceasefire in effect.
In fact, there are two ceasefires supposedly in effect: one guaranteed by the framework agreement signed between Lebanon and Israel, as a result of the direct negotiations mediated by Washington, and, of course, the other by the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the US and Iran. A ceasefire in Lebanon is the very first term of that MoU.
Now, the chief of staff of the Israeli military [Eyal Zamir] was inside southern Lebanon earlier on Sunday, visiting the Beaufort Castle area. And he said this activity is within what they understand to be the terms of the framework agreement.
So it’s kind of a questionable ceasefire.
But the actual question is not whether the Israeli military activity will continue, because that seems quite certain, but whether Hezbollah will respond. Till this point, their activity has been fairly restrained. There’ve been a couple of cases of individual fighters who’ve come out of homes and tried to stage attacks on Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, but there’s been nothing significant on an organisational level.
So the question is whether this Israeli military activity will escalate and whether we will eventually see a Hezbollah response.
On Sunday, several prisoners arrived at Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, reuniting with their families following their release from Israeli prison.
Watch below:
Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister has met his Bahraini counterpart in Riyadh and “discussed the latest regional developments, including the US-Iran negotiation path”, according to a statement from his office.
Saudi Arabia’s Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Bahrain’s Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani also discussed “the ongoing efforts of both countries to enhance security and stability”, the statement said.
They “reaffirmed the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation” in the Strait of Hormuz, it added.
Iran attacked Gulf states, including Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, after the US and Israel bombed Iran on February 28. Tehran insists it has only targeted US interests in the Gulf, but regional leaders say civilian infrastructure was also struck.
#Riyadh | Foreign Minister HH Prince @FaisalbinFarhan received Bahrain’s Foreign Minister, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani. pic.twitter.com/R746bZoXpv
— Foreign Ministry 🇸🇦 (@KSAmofaEN) July 5, 2026
Reporting from Beirut, Lebanon
This [latest Israeli] air strike targeted an area called Nabatieh al-Fawqa.
It’s the hilltops and the suburbs surrounding the city of Nabatieh, which has been the focus of intensive Israeli military activity, particularly before this latest ceasefire.
The Israeli military said that it was targeting Hezbollah fighters in this strike.
We don’t have confirmation of that, or how many casualties there might have been. And part of that is because Lebanon’s civil defence are not able to access the location due to the continued threat of Israeli air strikes.
That’s not the only military activity in southern Lebanon today.
There was artillery shelling, including on the village of Baraachit, where there was a mass civilian funeral earlier on Sunday. That was for people who have been killed over the last couple of months, but whose families had not been able to bury them in their home village because it wasn’t safe. And when the families tried to do so today, there was artillery shelling on the outskirts of that town.
There were also detonations in a couple of other locations.
Reporting from Tehran, Iran
Here, inside Tehran’s Mosalla mosque, hundreds of thousands of Iranians are passing by the coffins of Iran’s late supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, and his immediate family members.
Many of these people have travelled from across Iran for what they see as a final opportunity to say goodbye to Khamenei and his family members.
For Iran’s leadership, the ceremonies are about more than mourning. They’re also a public display of continuity after the assassination of the man who led Iran for nearly four decades. The message is that institutions he built remain intact, and the transition of power is proceeding without disruption.
These crowds are expected to gather again and again in the coming days. The biggest gathering is expected to take place in Tehran again because Khamenei’s coffin will be taken to Freedom Square for public display.
Then, on July 7, his body is going to be taken to the holy city of Qom, and then, on July 8, it will be taken to Iraq, to the cities of Karbala and Najaf. Finally, on July 9, his body will be taken to the city of Mashhad in Iran, his birthplace, where his family is from, and where the eighth imam of Shia Islam is buried.
Millions of people have attended funeral prayers in Tehran for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israel strike on February 28.
Aerial video reveals the scale of the crowd.
Watch below:
Hello, and welcome to our live coverage of the United States and Israel’s war on Iran, as well as Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and the occupied Palestinian territory.
Stay with us for all the latest news and analysis from across the Middle East and beyond.
You can find our updates from Sunday, July 5, here.
Massive crowds gathered in Tehran to mourn Khamenei’s death, with chants calling for revenge against the US and Israel.
The Islamic Republic is leaning into religious imagery to hone its political messages locally and across the region.
Millions of people have attended funeral prayers in Tehran for Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Despite US objections, ambassador insists new fees to be charged to vessels transiting Strait of Hormuz.
Follow Al Jazeera English:
