Representatives of Hezbollah and Hamas Attend Khamenei's Farewell Ceremony

(Tehran – Combined Reports) Representatives from Iranian-backed armed groups attended the farewell ceremony for Iran's late Supreme Leader Khamenei; special envoys from Lebanon's Hezbollah and Hamas also met with Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi.

According to Iranian state television, leaders of the Palestinian armed group and Hamas ally "Islamic Jihad," as well as senior members of Yemen's Houthi rebels, also arrived in Tehran on Saturday (July 4) to attend the ceremony.

Hamas, Lebanon's Hezbollah, and Yemen's Houthi rebels are designated as terrorist organizations by the United States and other Western nations; Iran has provided support to these groups for years, incurring international sanctions as a result.

Khamenei, who had ruled for 37 years, was killed in a joint US-Israeli airstrike on February 28. The coffins containing his remains and those of four family members who also perished were placed on a raised platform within the mosque complex, allowing the public to pay their respects from a distance.

Xinhua reporters at the scene observed large crowds shedding tears; people held up photographs of Khamenei and the current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba, while chanting slogans opposing the US and Israel. Authorities estimate that more than 10 million people in Tehran will participate in the mourning activities.

Video footage from Iranian state television showed three of Khamenei's sons praying beside his coffin on Sunday, though Mojtaba—his second son and successor as Supreme Leader—was notably absent. He has not appeared in public since assuming office on March 9; Reuters, citing informed sources, reported that he suffered facial disfigurement and severe injuries to one or both legs during the US-Israeli airstrike.

Khamenei's funeral is viewed by observers as a barometer of the Iranian public's support for the government. Iran saw large-scale protests erupt in January of this year; human rights organizations claim these protests were suppressed, resulting in thousands of deaths. Khamenei's remains will be transported to the holy city of Qom on Tuesday, then to the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala on Wednesday, before being interred in Mashhad, his birthplace.

Iran Claims Dismantling of Four Cells Linked to US and Israeli Intelligence Agencies

Iranian intelligence authorities announced the recent dismantling of four strongholds belonging to "terrorist and extremist groups" linked to US and Israeli intelligence agencies. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Law Enforcement Command conducted joint operations across multiple areas of Sistan and Baluchestan Province, arresting 10 members of operational cells and killing two gunmen.

Among them, a five-member cell was suspected of involvement in attacks targeting Iranian military units and judicial institutions; the individuals involved have been handed over to provincial judicial authorities. During the operations, Iranian security forces also seized a large quantity of firearms, ammunition, and explosives, along with four radio communication devices and a Starlink satellite communication unit.

The Iranian Ministry of Intelligence stated that these gunmen had joined "terrorist and extremist groups" based in neighboring countries and received training abroad in military tactics and the use of explosives. They had planned to carry out acts of sabotage, assassinations, and terrorism in southeastern Iran but were arrested before they could act, and their organizational networks have been dismantled.