Iran’s supreme leader makes first public appearance since Iran-Israel war started

AP Iran s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday made his first citizens appearance since the -day war between Israel and Iran began attending a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura Khamenei s absence during the war suggested heavy guard for the Iranian leader who has final say on all state matters State TV in Iran indicated him waving and nodding to the chanting crowd which rose to its feet as he entered and sat at a mosque next to his office and residence in the capital Tehran There was no immediate account on any population announcement made Iranian executives such as the Parliament speaker were present Such events are inevitably held under heavy protection The -year-old Khamenei had spent the war in a bunker as threats to his life escalated After the U S inserted itself into the war by bombing three key nuclear sites in Iran U S President Donald Trump sent warnings via social media to Khamenei that the U S knew where he was but had no plans to kill him at least for now On June shortly after a ceasefire began Khamenei made his first residents comment in days saying in a prerecorded report that Tehran had delivered a slap to America s face by striking a U S air base in Qatar and warning against further attacks by the U S or Israel on Iran Trump replied in remarks to reporters and on social media Look you re a man of great faith A man who s highly respected in his country You have to tell the truth You got beat to hell Iran has acknowledged the deaths of more than people in the war as well as thousands of injured It also has certified serious damage to its nuclear facilities and has denied access to them for inspectors with the U N nuclear watchdog Iran s president on Wednesday ordered the country to suspend its cooperation with the watchdog the International Atomic Strength Agency further limiting inspectors ability to track a undertaking that had been enriching uranium to near weapons-grade levels Israel launched the war fearing that Iran was trying to develop atomic weapons It remains unclear just how badly damaged the nuclear facilities are whether any enriched uranium or centrifuges had been moved before the attacks and whether Tehran still would be willing to continue negotiations with the United States over its nuclear project Israel also targeted defense systems high-ranking military functionaries and atomic scientists In retaliation Iran fired more than ballistic missiles at Israel bulk of them intercepted killing people and causing damage in multiple areas Ceremony commemorates a death that caused rift in Islam The ceremony that Khamenei hosted Saturday was a remembrance of the th century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad s grandson Hussein Shiites represent over of the world s billion Muslims and they view Hussein as the rightful successor to the Prophet Muhammad Hussein s death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala south of Baghdad created a rift in Islam and continues to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity In predominantly Shiite Iran red flags represented Hussein s blood and black funeral tents and clothes represented mourning Processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating men demonstrated fervor Several sprayed water over the mourners in the intense heat Reports of problems accessing the internet NetBlocks a global internet monitor shared late Saturday on X that there was a major disruption to internet connectivity in Iran It explained the disruption corroborated widespread user reports of problems accessing the internet The maturation comes just weeks after government shut down telecoms during the war