First Thing: Iran to show defiance in six-day funeral for supreme leader

According to the Guardian, Iran is preparing a six-day funeral for Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a US-Israeli strike last February. The ceremony, beginning this weekend in Tehran and concluding Thursday in the holy city of Mashhad, is intended as an epic display of national mourning, power, and resilience. Millions are expected to attend—Iran's first vice-president called it the most important event of the century and the largest gathering since the nineteen seventy-nine revolution. The funeral will also carry Khamenei's body through Iraq's Shia cities of Karbala and Najaf at the request of Iraqi politicians, underscoring regional solidarity. Khamenei's successor, his son Mojtaba, suffered severe injuries in the same strike that killed his father, along with Mojtaba's wife and fourteen-month-old daughter. Mojtaba is not expected to attend the funeral, and his condition remains unclear. Israel's defense minister has threatened to kill him. Despite his absence, Mojtaba has issued statements distancing himself from ceasefire negotiations while sanctioning their continuation.

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