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Funeral delayed amid security concerns
Iranian authorities have postponed the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, citing overwhelming public demand and logistical challenges as US and Israeli forces continue airstrikes across the country.
The three-day ceremony, originally scheduled to begin Wednesday night at Tehran's Grand Mosalla prayer complex, will now take place at an unspecified later date, according to Seyyed Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of the Islamic Propaganda Co-ordination Council of Tehran province. Mahmoudi told the Tasnim news agency that the decision was made to accommodate the high volume of mourners and ensure adequate facilities.
Succession process accelerates
A member of Iran's Assembly of Experts, the clerical body responsible for selecting the next supreme leader, said the group is nearing a decision on Khamenei's successor. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami told state television that candidates have already been identified, though he did not disclose names.
Two sources told Reuters that Khamenei's son, Mojtaba, a 56-year-old cleric with close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is the leading contender. Mojtaba has operated largely behind the scenes but is believed to have accumulated significant influence under his father's rule.
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned that any successor who continues to threaten Israel or the US would be "an unequivocal target for elimination."
Military escalation and casualties
The US and Israel have intensified strikes on Iranian military infrastructure since Khamenei's assassination on Saturday. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that a US submarine sank an Iranian navy frigate, the Iris Dena, in the Indian Ocean off Sri Lanka's coast. Hegseth described the attack as a "quiet death" in international waters.
Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary, Air Vice Marshal Sampath Thuyyakontha, confirmed that 80 bodies have been recovered from the frigate, with 32 survivors rescued and dozens still missing.
Hegseth also claimed that US and Israeli forces would achieve total aerial superiority over Iran within days and would soon "control the country." He stated, "This was never meant to be a fair fight, and it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they're down."
"President Trump has dragged the American people into an unjust war,"
Ali Larijani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council
Iran retaliates with missile strikes
Iran has launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel and Gulf states hosting US military bases. Kuwait's health ministry reported that an 11-year-old girl was killed by shrapnel from an Iranian attack on a residential area. Nine others, including six US service personnel and two Kuwaiti soldiers, have died in Kuwait since the conflict began.
Saudi Arabia said an attempted drone attack targeted its largest oil refinery, Ras Tanura, though no damage was reported. Turkey's defence ministry announced that a NATO air defence system intercepted an Iranian missile over the Eastern Mediterranean.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian defended the strikes, stating that the US-Israeli assault had left Iran with "no choice but to defend ourselves" after diplomatic efforts failed. Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani, rejected Iran's claims that the attacks targeted only US interests, citing strikes on civilian infrastructure.
Civilian toll and regional fallout
Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that 1,045 military personnel and civilians have been killed since the conflict began. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRNA) estimated civilian deaths at 1,097, including 181 children under 10. The figures could not be independently verified.
In Qatar, authorities arrested 10 individuals allegedly linked to the IRGC, accusing them of spying on infrastructure and planning sabotage operations. Meanwhile, Israel's military said its defence systems intercepted multiple salvos of Iranian missiles, with no immediate reports of casualties in Israel.
Over the past five days, 10 people have been killed in Israel by missile strikes, according to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). The IDF also claimed to have conducted multiple airstrikes on Iranian military sites, including command centres, missile arrays, and air defence systems in Tehran.
