The remains of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were transported to the Shia shrines of Najaf and Karbala in Iraq, where funeral ceremonies have been underway for five days. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior Iranian officials traveled to Iraq to participate in the services, with the Iraqi Prime Minister al-Zaidi declaring Wednesday a public holiday.
The ceremonies occurred as tensions escalated between Iran and the United States, marked by an exchange of strikes following attacks on several tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. attributed these attacks to Iran and retaliated with strikes on dozens of Iranian military targets. Iran stated it responded by targeting U.S. military facilities in Bahrain and Kuwait.
Following these escalations, U.S. President Donald Trump declared that a preliminary agreement between the U.S. and Iran aimed at ending the conflict was "over." This understanding, a memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Pezeshkian, reportedly included provisions for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil and gas shipments, and set a two-month deadline for a final deal covering Iran's nuclear program, U.S. sanctions, and a permanent truce.
Iran's Parliamentary Speaker and chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, accused the U.S. of breaching the agreement and issued a warning that Iranians "don't fold."
Meanwhile, the new Supreme Leader of Iran, Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father, has not appeared in public since reportedly sustaining serious injuries in an Israeli airstrike in Tehran on February 28. That strike is also reported to have killed his father, his wife, and several other family members. President Pezeshkian reportedly returned to Tehran early Wednesday after the exchange of strikes.
Mediator Qatar had previously indicated that Iranian and U.S. negotiators had made "positive progress" in indirect talks in Doha following a similar exchange of strikes. Their next meeting was scheduled to take place after the conclusion of the ceremonies for the late Supreme Leader.