Prateek Tanmay
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office of the White House. (AP Photo) US President Donald Trump said he was surprised to see Iranians mourning at the funeral of former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, telling Axios in an interview that he had expected people in Iran to feel differently about him.
‘Thought people hated him‘
Trump told Axios he assumed Iranians disliked Khamenei, adding, “Maybe it’s fake tears,” after seeing visuals of mourners crying during the ceremonies. Khamenei, who ruled Iran for 36 years, was killed on February 28, the day the US and Israel launched strikes on the country, setting off a war in the region.
Millions of Iranians have gathered on the streets during the week-long funeral, among the most closely watched global events in recent days. On Saturday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were seen crying during the farewell ceremony.
Trump warns Iran is ‘begging to make a deal‘
Speaking to Axios, Trump also addressed ongoing negotiations with Iran, saying both sides had agreed to pause talks for a week out of respect for the funeral, during which neither side would carry out attacks.
“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. They are begging to make a deal,” Trump said.
Story continues below this ad
He added that Iran had been given a pause in hostilities as a gesture of goodwill. “We beat Venezuela in one day, and we knocked the hell out of Iran; they’re dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave him a week off for a funeral because we’re nice,” he said.
Khamenei’s funeral began on July 4, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of US independence, with further rituals planned in Qom on July 7 and burial in Mashhad on July 9.
