UNITED NATIONS: A US-Iran UN clash erupted before Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral, as US Ambassador Michael Waltz said few would mourn Iran’s late supreme leader.
Waltz accused Khamenei of having “his own people’s blood” on his hands and urged the United Nations to focus on Iran’s recent executions of protesters.
The remarks came hours before a coffin said to contain Khamenei’s remains arrived at Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla on Friday.
Waltz also warned that US President Donald Trump’s patience with Tehran was “not unlimited.”
The US delegation accused Iran of violating a June 17 memorandum of understanding by carrying out drone and missile attacks against regional neighbours and using sea mines to disrupt shipping lanes.
Waltz said Washington would not allow Iran to hold the world economy hostage through disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya joint military command warned the United States, Israel and their allies against any “miscalculation” during the funeral processions.
Read: Iran Turns Khamenei Funeral into Show of Power
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Khamenei’s death marked the start of a new chapter of national unity.
The funeral procession is scheduled to begin in Tehran on July 4 and end with Khamenei’s burial in Mashhad on July 9.