Poet's Call for Trump's Death at Khamenei Funeral
A performer at the funeral for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called for the death of U.S. President Donald Trump before a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people Sunday in Tehran, the capital. Mohammad Rasouli, a poet, drew chants of 'Death to America!' and 'Death to Israel!' from the mourners.
Speaking to the crowd, Rasouli asked, referring to Trump: 'Why is the most bastard man in the world still alive?' The crowd responded with calls for Trump's killing, coinciding with Trump's speech in Washington for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
Massive Turnout for Khamenei's Funeral
A far-larger crowd than the previous day attended the ceremony. Mourners dressed in black walked to the site, carrying banners and flags honoring Khamenei and also calling for Trump's death. The funeral was delayed as the Iran war raged, and talks are on hold until it is over.
The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before being killed at age 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike at the start of the Iran war, could provide a boost for the country's theocracy and its new supreme leader, his son Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. That is important as Iran tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the U.S. over a permanent end to the war, and as concern lingers that Israel could attack again.
