Trump: We destroyed Iran and gave it a week's rest for Khamenei's funeral

U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran "desperately wants" to reach a deal with the United States, noting that he had given Tehran a week's notice due to the official funeral of the Iranian leader.

This came in a speech delivered by Trump in South Dakota on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America's independence, during which he touched on the Iranian file and developments in the Middle East.

In his speech, he added that his country has "completely destroyed Iran" (economically and politically), reiterating that Tehran "strongly wants to sit at the negotiating table and reach an agreement."

In this context, the US president referred to the funeral and funeral ceremonies held in Iran recently, saying, "We gave them a week because of the funeral ceremony."

Iran officially begins Khamenei's funeral ceremony

Iran officially began on Saturday (July 4th) the funeral ceremony of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which will last for six days and includes stops in Iraq, before the body is buried in the city of Mashhad.

Since dawn, thousands of mourners flocked to the courtyard of Tehran's Grand Chapel, where Khamenei's coffin is laid to rest carrying red flags that read "Martyr", with  participants chanting "Death to America, death to Israel" and "Revenge, revenge", according to AFP.

Participants had been pouring in since dawn. Most of them wore black, and Khamenei was killed in an Israeli strike on his residence in Tehran on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran on Feb. 28  that sparked a war that has spread to several countries in the Middle East.

He was temporarily buried until a ceasefire allowed for his official funeral.

IRGC commander makes public appearance for first time since war

The commander-in-chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Maj. Gen. Ahmad Vahidi, appeared publicly on Friday for the first time since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war on his country at the end of last February, during the funeral ceremony of former Iranian leader Ali Khamenei in the capital Tehran.

Vahidi, 68, was seen in front of Khamenei's coffin, putting his hand on the coffin and praying, in his first public appearance since taking command of the Revolutionary Guards, according to photos and clips published by Iranian media, including the semi-official ISNA news agency.

The official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Vahidi as saying during the funeral ceremony: "We will not deviate from the approach of our martyred leader, he remains in our hearts and souls, and his presence among us is immortal and continuous in the march of Iran and the Islamic Ummah."

Vahidi has been absent from the public scene since he took command of the Revolutionary Guards in early March, succeeding Maj. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour, who was killed on the first day of the war.

His absence came amid security precautions that accompanied the US-Israel war, which began with a strike that resulted in high-profile assassinations in the ranks of the Iranian leadership, most notably Khamenei and Bakpour, and before his appointment as commander of the Revolutionary Guards, Vahidi had been deputy commander-in-chief of the IRGC since December 2025.

Vahidi has a long history within the IRGC, having previously commanded the Quds Force, the IRGC's external arm, and held government and security positions, including defense minister (2009-2013) and interior minister (2021-2024).

Argentina accuses him of involvement in the 1994 bombing of the AMIA Jewish Center in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people, and a red notice has been issued against him by the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), while Iran denies involvement in the attack.

Iranian news agency: US pressure to prevent Arab participation in Khamenei's farewell

Over the past five days, Washington has led an intensive diplomatic campaign to prevent countries from attending Khamenei's funeral through direct contacts and warnings of negative repercussions on bilateral relations, Iran's Tasnim news agency said.

   On June 26, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio  issued a  confidential directive to U.S. embassies asking for "all possibilities" to be used to convince governments that participation would be considered an "unfriendly move" toward the United States.

Despite this, official delegations from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Oman, Iraq, Lebanon, Algeria, and Tunisia participated, as well as delegations from other countries,  as well as the Turkish vice president, the Pakistani prime minister, the army commander, and the deputy chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, as well as delegations from the Houthi movement, Hezbollah, Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

Friday's ceremony was limited to receiving official delegations at the Imam Khomeini Prayer Hall in Tehran, before the popular funeral ceremonies began on Saturday, which lasts for several days, with the body later moving to Qom and then Iraq, before burying it in the city of Mashhad.