Trump Says US Could “Take Out” Iran’s Leadership With “One Shot” at Khamenei Funeral, But Won’t
US President Donald Trump has said that Washington has the capability to eliminate the remaining leadership of Iran in a single strike, referring to the concentration of senior Iranian officials gathered for the week-long state funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader killed in US-Israeli airstrikes on February 28.
Trump made clear, however, that such an action was not something the US intended to pursue, since it wants negotiations with Iran to continue. “They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with,” Trump told Axios.
In the same interview, Trump said he was surprised to see Iranians crying at the funeral, adding that he had believed the late Supreme Leader was widely disliked. “Maybe it’s fake tears,” he said. Iran’s embassy in Armenia responded to the remark on X, stating: “You don’t understand these things because you have neither civilization, nor history, nor honor.”
Earlier, ahead of Fourth of July celebrations in the US, Trump had also taken aim at Iran, saying: “We knocked the hell out of Iran. They’re dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral because we’re nice.”
Iran Warns Against Any Strikes
Ahead of the funeral’s commencement, a senior Iranian military commander warned the US and Israel against any attack on Iran during the mourning period. “We warn the enemies of Iran, especially the US and the Zionist regime (Israel), to avoid any miscalculation and to think about the harsh retaliation our armed forces would make to any threat and aggression against our country,” said Ali Abdollahi, commander of Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, in a statement carried by Iranian state media.
Funeral processions for Khamenei began on Friday, July 3, in Tehran and are set to conclude on July 9 with his burial in his hometown of Mashhad, with additional ceremonies planned in Qom and Iraq in the intervening days.
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Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi issued a similar warning earlier in the week, saying Tehran would respond immediately and forcefully to any threat against its people or leadership. His comments followed remarks by Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, who said Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei son of the late Ayatollah was “marked for death.”
Mojtaba Khamenei is unlikely to appear publicly at his father’s funeral, as authorities cannot guarantee his safety, according to Ayatollah Hakim Elahi, the Supreme Leader’s Representative in India, who spoke to India Today earlier this month.