Iran prepared on Friday (July 3, 2026) for the dayslong funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with banners across Tehran urging the public to rise up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.

The country’s theocracy plans to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning on Saturday (July 4, 2026) in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.

That could provide a boost for Iran’s government, particularly as it tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the United States over a permanent end to the war, and as concern still lingers that Israel could attack yet again.

Despite that, a powerful general who leads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged publicly for the first time in months for the funeral. Other top government officials will also likely will be on hand alongside foreign dignitaries in a show of strength of Iran.

“As long as these people, who are chosen (by God), are on the field, we will definitely continue the same ‘no to humiliation’ policy that was founded by the Islamic Republic,” said Mohammad Hossein Rezaei, a volunteer preparing for the funeral on Friday (July 3, 2026).

“We will continue our policy of pursuing independence, and decisions will be made inside the country, and the people will decide their own fate,” he said.

Caskets displayed in Tehran

Khamenei’s flag-draped coffin sat at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla alongside family members killed in the Israeli airstrike that came in the first moments of the war on February 28.

The dead being honoured include a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, a 14-month-old granddaughter and the wife of Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the previous leader who remains in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the attack.

Religious leaders and foreign dignitaries walked up to Khamenei’s casket as a military band played or a man sang prayers. Iran’s Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, key leaders in the country’s civilian government, all paid their respects.

Video published by Iranian state media showed an earlier mourning ceremony on Thursday (July 2, 2026) night for Khamenei. The black-clad mourners, whom state media identified as coming from families of those who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing.

Later, state media showed images of Khamenei’s casket draped by a red flag with white calligraphy reading “Ya Hussein,” a Shiite expression in remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. It had been flying over the Imam Hussein golden-domed shrine in Karbala, Iraq. The flag also traditionally symbolises both the spilled blood of someone unjustly killed and a call for vengeance.

Top general appears for first time in months

Photos published online by Iranian state media showed Gen Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting on Thursday (July 2, 2026) about the funeral of Khamenei, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran’s theocracy held a smaller service for him Thursday (July 2, 2026) night near the supreme leader’s former home in downtown Tehran.

“They must know that the pure blood of our martyred imam will mark another turning point in the victories of beloved Islam across the global arena,” Mr. Vahidi told state television in comments aired on Friday (July 3, 2026). “They will take to their graves the wish to see this nation surrender. This nation will rise higher day by day through this pure blood.”

Mr. Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say. He had not been seen publicly since February 8, weeks before the Iran war began.

Israel killed top leaders in Iran’s military and government during the war, and has threatened the life of Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei as well. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with the younger Khamenei.

It remains unclear whether Khamenei will appear at his father’s funeral. His father appeared in 1989 at Khomeini’s funeral, weeping visibly, as he began his journey to lead Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.

Israel’s repeated threats to kill Khamenei drew a warning from Iran’s joint military command on Thursday (July 2, 2026).

“We warn the enemies of a strong Iran, especially the United States, the Israeli regime and their regional and extraregional accomplices, to avoid any miscalculation and to consider the harsh and regret-inducing responses that the sons of the Iranian nation in the armed forces will give to any threat or aggression against our beloved country,” the military command said.

Funeral to go on for days

Beginning Saturday (July 4, 2026), Iran will hold the days-long funeral for Khamenei, and his body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighbouring Iraq. Authorities plan to shut down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of Khamenei.

In Tehran, images of the late Khamenei’s fist could be seen in banners and in a giant statue in Tehran’s Enghelab Square, framed by what appeared to be ballistic missiles flying through the air.

In his first message to the nation, read by a state television anchor, Mojtaba Khamenei said he saw his father’s body after his death with raised, clenched fist.

The banners read in Arabic, English and Farsi: “We must rise.”

“This fist is the clenched fist of all us Muslims,” taxi driver Jafar Javadi said. “The leader’s fist is a sign all our fists are clenched and they (the enemies) will be destroyed with these fists, God willing. We will continue chanting death to America and death to Israel with the same clenched fist.”

Published – July 03, 2026 10:26 pm IST

The UN’s nuclear chief said on Friday (June 26, 2026) that Iran’s pledge not to build a nuclear weapon would need “very strong” verification, as the United States and the Islamic republic negotiate a permanent settlement to end their war.

Iran’s nuclear programme is a key sticking point in talks to end the West Asia war, which began in late February with massive U.S.-Israeli strikes.

Iran and the U.S. last week signed a preliminary deal to end the conflict, embarking on negotiations expected to address a host of disputes including the nuclear programme.

But there has been contrasting information from Tehran and Washington on whether UN inspectors will have access to Iranian nuclear facilities.

“I think the objective of this agreement is to ensure that there is no development of nuclear weapons in Iran. The government of Iran has declared quite clearly that this is not their intention,” International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) head Rafael Grossi said on Friday (June 26, 2026).

“But of course intentions are not enough. We have to have a very strong verification system in place… as soon as is practicable,” he added.

Mr. Grossi said the UN’s nuclear watchdog had so far “barely initiated” talks with Iran following the agreement with the United States.

The deal specifies that the country’s stockpile of enriched uranium should be “downblended” under IAEA supervision.

Before the war the IAEA estimated that Iran had 440 kilograms (970 pounds) of uranium enriched to 60 percent, below the threshold needed to make a bomb, but the fate of that stockpile is unknown after the U.S. and Israel bombed Iranian nuclear facilities last year.

In Tehran meanwhile, people told AFP that despite the diplomatic progress, there had so far been no tangible benefits in everyday life.

“Overall, nothing has improved,” said Amir, 28, a government employee. “Life has simply become more difficult.”

Mehdi, 35, a content creator, said that “until such changes are felt in people’s everyday lives, it is only natural that hope will remain accompanied by doubt, and that anticipation will give way to exhaustion and anxiety”.

‘Going to happen’

Iran’s nuclear programme has long been a source of friction with Western powers, who suspect Tehran is building a bomb despite repeated Iranian denials.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday (June 23, 2026) that Tehran had “fully and completely agreed” to allow UN inspectors to return to the country, while on Wednesday (June 24, 2026) Mr. Grossi said inspections of Iranian nuclear sites were “going to happen”.

Iran however said this week it had no intention of admitting the watchdog.

Tehran agreed a landmark nuclear deal with six big powers in 2015 that placed limits on its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief, but Trump walked away from the agreement during his first term as president.

Iran suspended cooperation with the IAEA last year after the U.S. and Israeli attacks in June.

Obstacles ahead

The dispute threatens to derail efforts to reach a permanent settlement between the US and Iran following months of war, with other key disputes being the Strait of Hormuz and Lebanon.

The strait is a narrow stretch of water between Iran and Oman that leads to the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean, making it a chokepoint for crucial energy shipments out of the Gulf.

Iran closed the waterway during the war in retaliation for U.S.-Israeli strikes, and its control of the strait has emerged as key leverage in the negotiations, as the world economy reels from energy shortages.

On Wednesday (June 24, 2026) an attack on a ship in the strait led the UN to suspend an effort to evacuate trapped mariners, many of whom have been stranded on the water since the war began.

The British maritime security agency UKMTO said a cargo ship was “hit on the starboard side by an unknown projectile”, but reported no casualties.

Iran has also said it plans to introduce fees for crossing the strait, a scheme vehemently opposed by Washington and most Gulf countries.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio, visiting the Gulf on Wednesday (June 24, 2026), dismissed the idea of charges, saying it would open the door to “total chaos”.

Mr. Rubio said the United States wants a deal with Iran but “we don’t want a deal at any price”.

Tehran has also insisted that a Lebanon ceasefire be included in the regional deal, rankling Israel.

Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem said Israel has “no option but to withdraw completely from every inch of our Lebanese land” that it had invaded, after the pro-Iran group joined the conflict in retaliation for the US-Israeli killing of Iran’s supreme leader.

Meanwhile, Lebanon’s president Joseph Aoun, who has tried to separate Lebanon from the US-Iran talks.

On Friday (June 26, 2026), he insisted on Lebanon’s eagerness for “any international formula that strengthens the capabilities of its armed forces, preserves its territorial integrity, and prevents its land from becoming an arena for escalation or regional tensions”.

Published – June 26, 2026 11:14 pm IST

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

A woman stands among the rubble of her house, which was damaged in a U.S. and Israeli strike in March, in Tehran, Iran June 7, 2026.
| Photo Credit: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Vessels sail through the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, on May 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

This handout photo provided by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official website Sepah News on April 5, 2026 reportedly shows the wreckage and remains of targeted and crashed aircraft in central Iran.
| Photo Credit: SEPAH news via AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in Washington. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

The United States has encouraged Syria to consider sending forces into eastern Lebanon to help disarm Hezbollah, but Damascus is reluctant to ‌embark on such a mission for fear of being sucked into the war in the Middle East and inflaming sectarian tensions, five ​people briefed on the matter said. The proposal to Syria’s U.S.-allied government reflects intensifying moves to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah, which opened fire at Israel in ⁠support of Tehran on March 2, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon.

The idea was first discussed by U.S. and Syrian officials last year, said two of the sources – both Syrian officials – and two others familiar with the discussions. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. The idea was raised again by U.S. officials around the time ‌the U.S. and Israel began their war against Iran. The two Syrian officials said a U.S. request came shortly before the war began. A Western intelligence source said it was just after it started.

Reuters spoke to 10 sources for this article – six Syrian officials and government advisors, ‌two Western diplomats, a European official and a Western intelligence source. All said Syria’s Sunni Islamist-led government had been cautiously considering a cross-border operation but remained ‌hesitant.

U.S. ⁠encouragement for a Syrian operation in eastern Lebanon and Syria’s hesitation to carry one out have not previously been reported.

A U.S. State Department ⁠spokesperson declined to comment on “private diplomatic communications”, and referred Reuters to the Syrian and Lebanese governments for comments on their operations.

After this story was published, U.S. envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, who is also ambassador to Turkey, posted on X that “reporting regarding the United States encouraging Syria to send forces into Lebanon is false and inaccurate.”

Damascus offers assurances to Lebanon

Despite historic enmity towards Hezbollah and Tehran – both fought ​alongside Bashar al-Assad during Syria’s 2011-24 civil war – Syrian President Ahmed ‌al-Sharaa has moved cautiously since U.S.-Israeli airstrikes on Iran began on February 28.

One source, a senior Syrian official, said Damascus and its Arab allies agreed Syria should stay out of the war, and take only defensive measures.

Damascus has deployed rocket units and thousands of troops at the Lebanese frontier since early February, calling these measures defensive.

Syria’s ministries of foreign affairs and information did not respond to requests for comment.

Responding to questions from Reuters, Lebanon’s presidency said it had not ‌received any “hint or notice from the U.S., the West, the Arab countries or Syria” about U.S.-Syria discussions on a potential cross-border operation.

Lebanese President Joseph ​Aoun had held a bilateral call with Sharaa, and a trilateral call also involving France’s president, in which Sharaa said Syria respected Lebanon’s sovereignty and had no intervention plans, the presidency said.

It said Lebanon coordinates with Syria on border arrangements but has never discussed Hezbollah ⁠with Damascus.

Lebanon’s military said channels of coordination with Syria remained open “within the framework of addressing border issues and common security challenges”, with the aim of preventing tensions or incidents and ensuring stability in the border area.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Sharaa had told him “the reinforcement of the military presence along the Syrian-Lebanese border aims solely to strengthen border ‌control and maintain internal Syrian security”, and that Sharaa underlined the importance of continued coordination.

Aoun has pursued a policy aimed at securing Hezbollah’s disarmament but Beirut has moved cautiously, with Hezbollah wielding a potent arsenal and enjoying significant support among Lebanese Shi’ite Muslims.

Sharaa has said he supports Aoun’s efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

Damascus sees risk of Iranian attack

The senior Syrian official said Washington had given the green light for an operation into eastern Lebanon to help Lebanon disarm Hezbollah – when the time is right.

But Damascus saw risks including possible Iranian missile attacks and potential for unrest among minority Shi’ites, threatening efforts to stabilise Syria after sectarianviolence last year.

Two Western diplomats also said Washington had approved the idea of a Syrian cross-border operation against Hezbollah. The Western intelligence source and a European official said the U.S. had asked Syria’s army to play a ‌more active role countering Hezbollah in Lebanon, including via a possible incursion into the east.

The Western intelligence source and the European official said Syria’s leadership was wary of entering Lebanon as this could inflame ​bilateral tensions.

A Syrian military official said there was no final decision yet on any possible operation inside Lebanon, but the option of intervening in the event of a conflict between the Lebanese state and Hezbollah remained on the table.

Syrian domination under Assads

Syria long dominated ⁠Lebanon under the Assads, sending in forces in 1976 during the 1975-90 civil war at the invitation of President Suleiman Frangieh and controlling Lebanon’s post-war politics until its withdrawal in ⁠2005.

Any Syrian intervention could fuel sectarian tensions in both Syria and Lebanon, home to a mosaic of sects including Sunnis, Christians, Druze and Shi’ites.

In a March 13 interview with Lebanese broadcaster MTV, Syrian Defense Ministry spokesperson Brigadier General Hassan Abdel Ghani said the build-up at the border was a defensive measure. ‌There was a high level of coordination with Lebanon’s army, he said, and Sharaa supported the establishment of Lebanese state authority over Lebanon.

Last week, Syria’s army said Hezbollah artillery shells landed in a border village. Hezbollah had said it had repelled an Israeli attempt to infiltrate Lebanon from the same village. Israeli officials ​said they were unaware of any such operation. The Syrian army said it was “considering appropriate options to take the necessary actions” in response.

Published – March 18, 2026 05:55 am IST

Iran’s Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani. File | Photo credits: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

The satellite image posted by an Iranian news outlet looked real: a devastated US base in Qatar. But it was an AI-generated fake, underscoring the accelerating threat of tech-enabled disinformation during wartime.

The rise of generative AI has turbocharged the ability of state actors and propagandists to fabricate convincing satellite imagery during major conflicts, a trend that researchers warn carries real-world security implications.

Follow | Israel-Iran war LIVE

As the US-Israeli war against Iran rages, Tehran Times, a state-aligned English daily, posted on X a “before vs. after” image it claimed showed “completely destroyed” US radar equipment at a base in Qatar.

In fact it was an AI-manipulated version of a Google Earth image from last year of a US base in Bahrain, researchers said.

The subtle visual giveaways included a row of cars parked in identical positions in both the authentic satellite photo and the manipulated image.

Yet the manipulated photo garnered millions of views as it spread across social media in multiple languages, illustrating how users are increasingly failing to distinguish reality from fiction on platforms saturated with AI-generated visuals.

Brady Africk, an open-source intelligence researcher, noted an “increase in manipulated satellite imagery” appearing on social media in the wake of major events including the Middle East war.

“Many of these manipulated images have the hallmarks of imperfect AI-generation: odd angles, blurred details, and hallucinated features that don’t align with reality,” Africk told AFP.

“Others appear to be an image manipulated manually, often by superimposing indicators of damage or another change on a satellite image that had no such details to begin with,” he said.

Information warfare analyst Tal Hagin flagged another AI-generated satellite image purporting to show that Israeli-US jets had targeted the painted silhouette of an aircraft on the ground in Iran, while Tehran seemingly moved real planes elsewhere.

The telltale clues included gibberish coordinates embedded in the fake image, which spread across sites including Instagram, Threads and X.

AFP detected a SynthID, an invisible watermark meant to identify images created using Google AI.

The fabricated satellite images follow the emergence of imposter OSINT, or open-source intelligence, accounts on social media that appear to undermine the work of credible digital investigators.

“Due to the fog of war, it can be very difficult to determine the success of an adversary’s strikes. OSINT came as a solution, using public satellite imagery to circumvent the censorship” inside countries like Iran, Hagin said.

“But it’s now being preyed upon by disinformation agents,” he added.

Reports of fake satellite imagery created or edited using AI also followed the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the four-day war between India and Pakistan last year.

“Manipulated satellite imagery, like other forms of misinformation, can have real-world impacts when people act on the information they come across without verifying its authenticity,” Africk said.

“This can have effects that range from influencing public opinion on a major issue, like whether or not a country should engage in conflict, to impacting financial markets.”

In the age of AI, authentic high-resolution satellite imagery collected in real time can give decision-makers vital clues to assess security threats and debunk falsehoods from unverified sources.

During a recent militant attack on Niamey airport in Niger, satellite intelligence company Vantor said it detected images circulating online purporting to show the main civilian terminal on fire.

The company’s own satellite imagery helped confirm that the photos were fake, almost certainly generated using AI, Vantor’s Tomi Maxted told AFP.

“When a satellite image is presented as visual evidence in the context of war, it can easily influence how people interpret events,” Bo Zhao, from the University of Washington, told AFP.

As AI-generated imagery grows increasingly convincing, it is “important for the public to approach such visual content with caution and critical awareness,” Zhao said.

Published – March 09, 2026 09:04 am IST