Khamenei buried in Mashhad as US strikes resume and WSJ reports new Iranian plot to kill Trump

Funeral and burial

Six days of funeral ceremonies across five cities (Tehran, Qom, Najaf, Karbala and Mashhad) concluded with the burial of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Mashhad during the early hours of Friday. Iranian state broadcaster Irib aired footage of the burial ceremony, which reportedly took place without the presence of Mojtaba Khamenei, the son and successor of the deceased leader. Official estimates cited by the Fars news agency put total attendance at between 41 and 43 million people. Press TV reported that the figures were derived from a combination of public-transport passenger records, mobile-phone signal data in key areas such as the mosque and main procession routes, an average individual participation time of roughly two and a half hours, detailed crowd-density calculations along Tehran's procession paths, and physical-area measurements from the Jamkaran Mosque to the Qom Shrine and from the airport to the Imam Reza Shrine in Mashhad.

US strikes continue during diplomacy

The burial took place against the backdrop of renewed American attacks on Iran. The strikes resumed even as the funeral processions were underway, according to Rai News. Despite the ongoing military action, technical talks between the two countries have not stopped. Diplomatic efforts to salvage the thread of an agreement are continuing, though the truce that had briefly held now appears to be a distant memory.

Reported assassination plot

Citing the Wall Street Journal, multiple Italian outlets report that Iran has a new plan to kill President Trump. Tgcom24 notes that Israel passed intelligence on the plot to the United States. Asked about the reported Iranian plan, Trump told the Journal: "So far, I guess I've been a little lucky, but maybe the luck won't last long."

So far, I guess I've been a little lucky, but maybe the luck won't last long.

Israel's role

A phone call between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu took place to define the next moves, according to Rai News. Israel may have already resumed its own air raids. The intelligence on the alleged Iranian plot was reportedly shared by Tel Aviv with Washington.

What comes next

The combination of resumed US strikes, ongoing technical negotiations, and the reported assassination plot leaves the US-Iran relationship at a volatile juncture. The burial of Khamenei removes a symbolic anchor for the Iranian regime at a moment when military and diplomatic tracks are running in parallel, and Israel's reported readiness to resume raids adds a further layer of regional escalation risk.