At least 21 people in the Gaza Strip were killed by Israeli strikes since dawn on Saturday, specifically in and around Gaza City and the al-Mawasi camp, south of Khan Younis.

Palestinians were targeted as they took refuge in schools-turned-shelters, after an Israeli air attack on the Osama bin Zaid School, where eight people were killed.

In a separate attack, six more Palestinians were killed and several others wounded when Israeli forces bombed a tent housing displaced people in al-Mawasi.

Deaths were reported elswhere.

Additionally, eight others were injured following Israeli artillery shelling on two homes in Jabalia al-Balad, in the northern Gaza Strip.

Israel ramped up its deadly strikes on the war-hit enclave this week following a ceasefire reached with Iran, which Israel attacked on 13 June.

US President Donald Trump said a ceasefire in Gaza was also “possible” within a week, after telling reporters late on Friday that he had been just been talking to some of the people involved in trying to reach a cessation of hostilities in the war-hit enclave.

“I think it’s close. I just spoke to some of the people involved. We think within the next week we’re going to get a ceasefire,” he said.

Meanwhile, Iran held a state funeral service on Saturday for around 60 people, including its military commanders, killed in its war with Israel.

The proceedings started at 8:00 am local time (0430 GMT) in the capital Tehran as government offices and many businesses were closed for the occasion.

“The ceremony to honour the martyrs has officially started,” state TV said, showing footage of thousands of people waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of the slain military commanders.

Iranians waving flags and shouting slogans join the state funeral, four days after Iran and Israel agreed on truce.

Tens of thousands of people have lined the streets in Iran’s capital, Tehran, as the country held a funeral service for military commanders, nuclear scientists and some civilians killed in Israeli attacks earlier this month.

State TV showed footage of people donning black clothes, waving Iranian flags and holding pictures of some of the dead in the ceremony that started at 8am (04:30 GMT) on Saturday.

Images from central Tehran showed coffins draped in Iranian flags and bearing portraits of the deceased commanders in uniform.

Israel launched the assault on its main regional rival on June 13, killing several senior military and scientific officials, and bombarding military sites and nuclear facilities across the country. Iran responded with missiles attacks on Israel.

The Israeli bombardment continued for 12 days, with key ally the United States joining the conflict to carry out strikes on three nuclear sites last weekend. In retaliation for the US attacks, Iran launched a wave of missiles at a US military base in Qatar.

Both Israel and Iran claimed victory in the war that ended with a ceasefire on Tuesday, with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei downplaying the US strikes, claiming Trump had “exaggerated events in unusual ways”, and rejecting US claims that Iran’s nuclear programme had been set back by decades.

The coffins of the Guard’s chief General Hossein Salami, the head of the Guard’s ballistic missile programme, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, and others were driven on trucks along the capital’s Azadi Street as people in the crowds chanted: “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.

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Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, which Israel said was meant to destroy Iran’s nuclear programme.

Mohammad Bagheri, a major-general in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, as well as top nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi were also killed in Israeli attacks.

Saturday’s ceremonies were the first public funerals for top commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian state television reported that they were for 60 people in total, including four women and four children.

Authorities closed government offices to allow public servants to attend the ceremonies.

War of words

The state funeral comes a day after US President Donald Trump launched a tirade on his Truth Social platform, blasting Khamenei for claiming in a video address that Iran had won the war.

Trump also claimed to have known “EXACTLY where he (Khamenei) was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the US Armed Forces… terminate his life”.

He claimed he had been working in recent days on the possible removal of sanctions against Iran, but he dropped it after Khamenei’s remarks.

Hitting back at Trump on Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X: “If President Trump is genuine about wanting a deal, he should put aside the disrespectful and unacceptable tone towards Iran’s Supreme Leader.”

Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from Tehran, said Araghchi’s remarks were “a most expected reaction” to Trump’s social media posts.

“Many Iranian people regard him [Khamenei] as chiefly a religious leader, but according to the constitution, he’s not only that – he’s the political leader, he’s the military leader – he’s simply the head of state in Iran,” he said.

Serdar also said Khamenei’s position is not just the top of a hierarchy, but a divine role in Shia political theology.

“Not only in Iran, but across the world, we know there are a significant number of Shia who look for his guidance,” Serdar said. “Anyone who knows that would be meticulously careful not to publicly criticise him, and particularly not to accuse him of lying.”

No nuclear talks planned

There was no immediate sign of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the state broadcast of the funeral.

Khamenei, who has not made a public appearance since before the outbreak of the war, has in past funerals held prayers for fallen commanders over their coffins before the open ceremonies, later aired on state television.

During the 12 days before the ceasefire, Israel claimed it killed about 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites.

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Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people, according to Israeli figures.

The Israeli attacks on Iran killed at least 627 civilians, Tehran’s Ministry of Health and Medical Education said.

After the US strikes, Trump said negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme for a new deal were set to restart next week, but Tehran denied there were plans for a resumption.

Amir-Saeid Iravani, Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN, speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations Headquarters on Tuesday. Yuki Iwamura/AP

Iran’s United Nations ambassador says the country would consider transferring its enriched uranium stockpiles abroad and allowing foreign investment in its energy sector, provided there is a deal with the United States.

In an exclusive written interview with Middle East news site Al-Monitor, Iran’s permanent representative to the UN Amir Saeid Iravani was questioned about the possibility of the country allowing international supervision of its stockpiles.

“Should a new agreement be concluded, we would be prepared to transfer our stockpiles of 60% and 20% enriched uranium to another country and have them transferred out of Iranian territory,” he said.

However, he emphasized that this would be contingent upon, in return, receiving yellowcake — a uranium concentrate powder that is crucial for the nuclear fuel cycle but requires further processing before it can be used as nuclear fuel or in nuclear weapons.

Another option could involve stockpiling uranium in Iran “under IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) seal,” depending on the progress of negotiations and any eventual agreement, he added.

It comes ahead of resumed talks between Iran and US President Donald Trump, who suggested this could happen next week.

Iravani also emphasized that Iran is not willing to accept restrictions on its missile program or domestic enrichment.

The country is open to “collaborate with all countries in our region that operate nuclear reactors — whether on issues of reactor safety or the supply of reactor fuel,” as long as it serves as a “complementary initiative” and is not a substitute for Iran’s own domestic nuclear program, he said.

He noted that “a consortium could very well be one of the forms such cooperation might take,” referring to a past proposal from the Trump administration for joint nuclear enrichment and production.

And any agreement with the US must recognize “Iran’s rights as a responsible member” of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), he added.

Hundreds of thousands of mourners have lined the streets of downtown Tehran for the funeral of the head of the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC), as well as other top commanders and nuclear scientists killed during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel.

The caskets of IRGC chief General Hossein Salami and the head of the group’s ballistic missile program, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, were among a group of caskets driven on trucks along Azadi Street on Saturday as people in the crowd chanted “Death to America” and “Death to Israel”.

Salami and Hajizadeh were both killed on the first day of the war, June 13, as Israel launched strikes it said were intended to destroy Iran’s nuclear program.

State media reported more than 1 million people turned out for the funeral procession, a number that could not be independently confirmed. However, the dense crowd packed the main Tehran thoroughfare along the entire 4.5-kilometre route.

Mourners gather in Islamic Revolution Square to attend a funeral ceremony for Iranian military leaders killed by Israel. (AP Photo: Vahid Salemi)

There was no immediate sign of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in the state broadcast of the funeral.

Khamenei, who has not made a public appearance since before the outbreak of the war, has in the past held prayers for fallen commanders over their caskets before the open ceremonies, later aired on state television.

Top officials among the mourners

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was on hand, and state television reported that General Esmail Qaani, who heads the foreign wing of the Revolutionary Guard, the Quds Force, and General Ali Shamkhani were also among the mourners.

People mourn over the flag-draped coffins of Iranian army generals, nuclear scientists and their family members. (AP Photo: Vahid Salemi)

Shamkhani, an adviser to Khamenei who was wounded in the first round of Israel’s attack and hospitalised, was shown in a civilian suit leaning on a cane in an image distributed on state television’s Telegram channel.

Over 12 days before a ceasefire was declared on Tuesday, Israel claimed it killed about 30 Iranian commanders and 11 nuclear scientists, while hitting eight nuclear-related facilities and more than 720 military infrastructure sites.

More than 1,000 people were killed, including at least 417 civilians, according to a Washington-based human rights group.

Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people.

Supreme leader not in attendance

Saturday’s ceremonies were the first public funerals for top commanders since the ceasefire, and Iranian state television reported that they were for 60 people in total, including four women and four children.

Khamenei’s last public appearance was made on June 11, two days before hostilities with Israel broke out, when he met with Iranian parliamentarians.

State media reported more than 1 million people turned out for the funeral procession. (AP Photo: Vahid Salemi)

On Thursday, however, he released a pre-recorded video in his first message since the end of the war, filled with warnings and threats directed toward the United States and Israel, the Islamic Republic’s longtime adversaries.

The 86-year-old claimed victory over Israel, and downplayed US strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites as having not achieved “anything significant”.

The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, Rafael Grossi, has characterised the damage done by American bunker-buster bombs to Iran’s Fordow nuclear site, which was built into a mountain, as “very, very, very considerable”.

AP

Iran holds state funeral for top military commanders killed in war with Israel

Iran on Saturday held a state funeral for around 60 people, including top military commanders, who were killed during the recent war with Israel.

The ceremony began early Saturday morning at Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran, where thousands of mourners dressed in black gathered, waving Iranian flags and holding portraits of the deceased.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, along with senior officials and military leaders, including Esmail Qaani, commander of the elite Quds Force, attended the funeral procession.

Among those present was Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who appeared using a walking cane after being wounded during the conflict.

State TV broadcast images of the somber gathering, with coffins draped in Iranian flags and adorned with photos of fallen commanders on display.

The event also featured mock-ups of Iranian ballistic missiles.

A large banner reading “Boom Boom Tel Aviv” was displayed at the march, referring to Iranian missiles fired at Israel during the 12-day conflict that began on June 13.

Among those being laid to rest are Mohammad Bagheri, a major general and second-in-command of Iran’s armed forces, along with his wife and daughter, both of whom were killed in an Israeli strike.

Nuclear scientist Mohammad Mehdi Tehranchi, who also died in the attacks, will be buried alongside his wife.

The Revolutionary Guards commander, Hossein Salami, killed on the first day of the war, will also be buried following the ceremony, which honours at least 30 other senior military officials.

The death toll among those being mourned also includes four women and four children.

The funeral comes amid renewed verbal clashes between Tehran and Washington.

On Friday, U.S. President Donald Trump sparked outrage in Iran after claiming he had protected Khamenei from an assassination plot during the conflict, while warning of further strikes if Iran resumed its nuclear activities.