Tehran Times

2026-07-03 21:25
By Mahmoud Ravi-Nejad

Global tribute to martyred Leader Ayatollah Khamenei

Nearly 100 countries sent official teams, senior officials, and public figures to Tehran for the funeral ceremony of the martyred Leader

TEHRAN — History is often remembered through the moments when nations fall silent.
- Documentary play “The Leader” to premiere during farewell ceremonies for Ayatollah Khamenei
- Inconsolable grief

Pezeshkian, in talks with world leaders, vows Iran 'will not bow to any bully'

TEHRAN — President Masoud Pezeshkian held a series of meetings on Thursday with foreign leaders and officials who traveled to Tehran for the funeral of Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution martyred in U.S.-Israeli strikes on February 28. With delegates from nearly 100 countries in attendance, Pezeshkian used the gatherings to thank Iran's allies for their solidarity and to reaffirm that the nation will not waver in the face of foreign aggression.
Qalibaf turns funeral diplomacy into a platform for regional engagement

TEHRAN — The funeral ceremonies for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, have become more than a moment of national mourning. They have also provided Iran with a significant diplomatic opportunity, as senior officials and high-level delegations from across Asia and the Middle East gathered in Tehran for a series of talks on regional security, post-war diplomacy, and strategic cooperation.
Funeral ceremony for martyr Leader Ayatollah Khamenei officially begins

Foreign heads of state attend funeral ceremony for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

TEHRAN – Funeral ceremonies have begun at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several of his family members, who were killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike targeting his office and residence on the first day of the war against Iran on Feb. 28.
In Doha, Iran tends to frozen funds as US claims talks that are not happening

TEHRAN — Iran’s senior negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi is currently in Qatar to oversee the implementation of existing financial agreements, and contrary to repeated American claims, no direct or indirect talks with the United States are taking place, a well-informed political source close to the Iranian negotiating team confirmed to the Tehran Times.
By Mahmoud Ravi-Nejad

Inconsolable grief

Tehran preparing to say farewell to martyr Leader

TEHRAN — A profound silence has descended upon Iran. It is the kind of silence that often precedes history—a silence heavy with grief, memory, and anticipation. From the crowded boulevards of Tehran to the Holy Shrines of Mashhad and Qom, from the bazaars of Tabriz to the historic avenues of Isfahan and the gardens of Shiraz, an entire nation is preparing to bid farewell to the man whom millions regarded not merely as a political leader, but as the spiritual compass of a generation.

Politics

Iran tells UN that US aggression, not Iranian action, is threat to peace

TEHRAN — Iran's ambassador to the United Nations on Thursday rejected American accusations against his country as "baseless" and "disinformation," insisting that Tehran's military responses to U.S. strikes were lawful exercises of self-defense under the U.N. Charter.
Funeral ceremony for martyr Leader Ayatollah Khamenei officially begins

TEHRAN – Funeral ceremonies have begun at Tehran’s Grand Mosalla mosque for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several of his family members, who were killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike targeting his office and residence on the first day of the war against Iran on Feb. 28.
Qalibaf says Iran won't give up Hormuz Strait

TEHRAN — Iran will never give up its control over the Strait of Hormuz, Parliament Speaker and top negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Tuesday, calling the waterway the country's most valuable strategic asset.

Sports

Iran handball team to participate in 2026 Asian Games

TEHRAN – Iranian men's handball has received a major boost ahead of the 2026 Asian Games, with the confirmation of the national team's participation in the Games.
Iran end Jordan's unbeaten run at FIBA World Cup 2027 Asian qualifier

TEHRAN - Iran led for more than 37 minutes and never allowed Jordan to mount a serious response after the opening exchanges, securing a comfortable 49-67 victory on Thursday, 2026, at Prince Hamza Arena in Amman.
Iran suffer three straight defeats at 2026 AVC Girls' U18 Volleyball Championship

TEHRAN – Iran suffered three consecutive defeats at the 2026 AVC Girls' U18 Volleyball Championship, currently underway in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand.

Culture

"A Martyr Never Dies": Brazilian cartoonist reflects on illustrating Iran's supreme leader

TEHRAN – Carlos Latuff has spent more than three decades documenting the Middle East through the lens of political cartooning, becoming one of the most widely shared and reproduced satirists covering US and Israeli policy in the region. Speaking to the Tehran Times following the assassination of Ayatollah Khamenei in coordinated US-Israeli strikes, Latuff reflects on the moment he learned the news, why he chose to center his response on the Supreme Leader himself, and how decades of drawing Iran have shaped his view of Western media coverage.
New memoirs chronicle resilience of former POWs

TEHRAN- Two new literary works on Iranian Prisoners of War (POWs) from the Iran-Iraq War, “War in Al-Rashid” and “Sanam,” were unveiled during a ceremony held at Tehran’s Art Bureau on Tuesday. The event was attended by authors, former Iranian Prisoners of War (POWs), and cultural enthusiasts.
Martyr Leader’s farewell, funeral ceremonies to be covered by 14,000 media professionals

TEHRAN – The farewell and funeral ceremonies for the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei and his family will be extensively covered by both domestic and foreign media outlets, the spokesperson for the Farewell, Funeral, and Burial Headquarters for the Martyr leader said.

Economy

Replacement of oil revenues with mining resources should be pursued: minister

TEHRAN- Minister of Industry, Mining, and Trade Seyyed Mohammad Atabak stated that the ministry's outlook is "smart value creation," focusing on securing and modernizing machinery, transforming underground wealth into national economic power, and replacing oil revenues with mining revenues, Mehr News Agency reported.
Iran Chamber presents 200 investment opportunities to Turkey’s DEIK

TEHRAN- Samad Hassanzadeh, Head of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA), met with the head of the Turkey-Iran Business Council at the Foreign Economic Relations Board of Turkey (DEIK), and the head of the Iran-Turkey Joint Chamber of Commerce, in Istanbul.
Flare gas collection plays vital role in reducing Iran's gas imbalance in winter

TEHRAN- Increasing the collection of flare gases in Iran's oil industry can compensate for part of the gas shortage in winter; a capacity that both prevents resource wastage and helps sustain energy supply.

Society

‘Inaction to environmental devastation resulting from conflicts exacerbates war impacts’

TEHRAN – Shina Ansari, the head of the Department of Environment (DOE), has highlighted that remaining silent in the face of environmental destruction caused by warmongers is the same as accepting a threat that will, sooner or later, impact everyone.
Iranian, Russian experts ink MOU to combat SDSs in Khuzestan province

TEHRAN – The natural resources and watershed management department of Khuzestan province has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with MA VOSTOK, a Russian company, to combat desertification and mitigate the impacts of sand and dust storms (SDSs) in the province's industrial regions, particularly the Shadegan oil field.
DOE issues title deeds for 22 wetlands

TEHRAN – In an effort to ensure the legal protection of wetlands, prevent encroachment, and establish state sovereignty over these valuable ecosystems, the Department of Environment (DOE) has issued titled deeds for 22 wetlands, covering an area of 1.34 million hectares, across the country.

Tourism

Persepolis through the eyes of Iran’s martyred leader

TEHRAN – As Iran prepares to bid farewell to its martyred leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, one of the defining moments reflecting his vision of the country’s cultural identity has once again come into focus: his historic visit to the UNESCO-listed Persepolis in 1988, where he described the ancient site as a “valuable treasure” that must be safeguarded for future generations.
Researcher highlights Isfahan's enduring role in Ta’zieh heritage

TEHRAN - Iran's ritual dramatic art of Ta’zieh continues to thrive across the country, with central Isfahan province widely regarded as the nation's leading center for the centuries-old tradition, according to Iranian researcher and Ta’zieh scholar Esmaeil Mojallali.
War, memory and the race to save a civilization

TEHRAN – What happens when one of the world's oldest civilizations is confronted with the realities of modern warfare? How do museums prepare for conflict, protect irreplaceable artifacts, and respond when cultural institutions come under threat? And what lessons have museum professionals learned from navigating these extraordinary challenges?

International

The modern golem of Silicon Valley demands a ritual sacrifice of innocence

TEHRAN — The little boys and little girls of the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school had just settled into their morning lessons when the sky split open. It was February 28, the opening day of the American-Israeli campaign against Iran, and three Tomahawk cruise missiles, one by one, tore through the roof, collapsing concrete onto the children's desks.
Can the Israel–Lebanon agreement succeed where military victory failed?

TEHRAN – The U.S.-brokered agreement between Lebanon and Israel appears to be far more than a deal governing the occupation regime’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon.
Behind the new Lebanon framework lies the trap of demographic erasure, endless war

TEHRAN — The document signed in Washington on June 26 under American “mediation” was celebrated in Western capitals as a historic breakthrough, even though it is a crude instrument of asymmetric warfare designed to secure an indefinite Israeli military presence.