'Neither civilisation, nor honour': Iran hits back at Trump over Khamenei funeral remarks

Iran on Sunday hit back at US President Donald Trump after he suggested that Washington could have eliminated the country's senior leadership during the funeral of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Tehran accused the US of lacking "civilisation, history and honour" in a strongly worded response.

Speaking to US media outlet Axios, Trump referred to the large gathering of Iran's top leadership at Khamenei's funeral in Tehran and said it presented a military opportunity. He added, however, that such an operation was not carried out because diplomatic efforts were still underway.

"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," Trump said.

He also questioned the scale of public mourning for Khamenei, saying he was surprised to see so many people grieving because he believed many Iranians opposed the late leader. "Maybe it's fake tears," Axios quoted him as saying.

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Iran says US lacks 'civilisation, history and honour'

Reacting to Trump's comments, the Iranian embassy in Armenia issued a statement on X, criticising both the US president and Washington.

Referring to the US celebrating the 250th anniversary of its independence on July 4, the embassy said America could never understand the public mourning witnessed in Iran because it "neither has civilisation, history, nor honour."

"People can be killed, but ideals cannot. You killed Ayatollah Khamenei, but in reality, you broke a perfume bottle whose scent spread everyplace. You don't understand these things because you have neither civilisation, nor history, nor honour," the embassy said.

Senior Iranian leaders attend funeral

Senior Iranian leaders, along with Khamenei's three sons, except current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, appeared in public on Sunday to participate in funeral prayers.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei led the Islamic Republic from 1989 until he was killed at the age of 86 in an airstrike on the opening day of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran and the wider conflict in West Asia on February 28.

Funeral ceremonies continue across Iran

The funeral ceremonies began on Saturday and are scheduled to continue over several days. Iranian authorities closed roads, restricted airspace and suspended much of normal activity in Tehran as large crowds gathered to pay their respects.

Sunday was declared a public holiday across Iran. Later in the day, Khamenei's body was to be moved from the Grand Mosalla complex, where it had been lying in state, ahead of funeral processions through the capital on Monday.

His coffin, draped in the Iranian flag with his black turban placed on top, was displayed alongside the coffins of four relatives who were also killed in the February strikes, including his infant granddaughter.

Iranian officials said they expect more than 10 million people to participate in the funeral events in Tehran. After the ceremonies in the capital, Khamenei's body will be taken to several cities across Iran as well as neighbouring Iraq.