“One shot and we could eliminate them all, but we will not do it because then we would have no one left to negotiate with.” President Donald Trump is closely following the funerals of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US and Israeli strikes on February 28. He told Axios that the Iranians “are begging to make a deal” to bring the war to a definitive end. Meanwhile, the parties have agreed to suspend talks for a week until the funeral ceremonies for the ayatollah and his relatives, killed in the attacks four months ago, conclude. “Right now, nobody will fire at the other — they are all there. One shot and we could eliminate them all, but we will not because then we would have no one left to negotiate with,” he added.

About 15 million people are expected at Khamenei’s five-day funeral. The public ceremony has officially begun and mourners are filling Tehran’s Grand Mosque. Images showing citizens in tears surprised Trump: “I thought they hated him. Maybe the tears are fake.”

In Tehran, the Health Ministry said preparations have been underway for a month and that field hospitals have been set up near the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque, where the coffins of Khamenei and some members of his family are on display. Medical teams are on high alert, and commemorative ceremonies will also be held in Qom and Mashhad. According to Tehran municipality figures cited by Fars news agency, more than 2.2 million people used the metro between 5:30 and 15:00 today.

In his conversation with Axios, Trump did not focus only on Iran. Attention also remains on his relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has seen disagreements in the past. “We get along very well. He knows who is in charge,” Trump said, adding that he had received a request for a meeting that could take place in Washington as soon as next week, after his return from the NATO summit in Ankara.

However, Israeli sources say the visit could be delayed to the following week. Netanyahu’s office confirmed the phone call with Trump in which the prime minister congratulated the United States on the 250th anniversary of its independence. The statement said that during the call the prime minister described the United States as a guarantor of global freedom and that Israel deeply values the close relationship between the two countries, noting that “Netanyahu and Trump agreed to meet soon in the United States.”

Also read