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U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that Washington temporarily put negotiations with Iran on hold to allow funeral ceremonies for former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in an airstrike on Feb. 28.
"They're dying to settle. They want to settle so badly. We gave him a week off for a funeral because we're nice," Trump claimed while speaking at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota during celebrations marking the 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, known as America 250.
"We beat Venezuela in one day, and we knocked the hell out of Iran," he added, arguing that the United States had built "the strongest and most powerful military."
Following a U.S.-Iran memorandum reached in June, the two sides have resumed indirect negotiations through Qatari and Pakistani mediators.
Recent talks in Doha focused mainly on the Strait of Hormuz, sanctions relief and regional security, with both sides agreeing to continue discussions after Khamenei's funeral despite making no major breakthrough.
Funeral processions for Khamenei officially began Friday in Tehran, drawing heads of state, senior officials and political delegations from across the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe, Africa and beyond. Iranian state television aired live footage of dignitaries arriving at Tehran's Imam Khomeini Mosalla to pay their respects before Khamenei's body.
Among those attending were Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Iraqi President Nizar Amidi, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Officials from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, China, Egypt, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and several other countries also took part.
Representatives of regional groups, including Hezbollah, Palestinian factions and Yemeni representatives, were also present, while separate memorial ceremonies were held in Lebanon, Iraq and other regional capitals.
Iranian authorities said the funeral timetable could still change, although memorial events are set to continue throughout the weekend with the participation of political and religious leaders.
Public farewell ceremonies are scheduled for July 4 and July 5, followed by the main funeral procession in Tehran on July 6.
The funeral rites will move to Qom on July 7 before continuing in Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala on July 8. Khamenei's final funeral and burial ceremony is scheduled for July 9 at the Imam Ali Reza Shrine in Mashhad.
During his visit, Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at Tehran's Saadabad Palace and conveyed Türkiye's condolences.
"As Türkiye, we will continue contributing to efforts to make peace and stability permanent in our region, strengthen channels of dialogue, and support the normalization process after the war," Yilmaz said.
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