Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a religious ceremony in Tehran, which is his first public appearance since the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran.
According to media reports, he was shown in a video broadcast by state television on Saturday, where several dozen people can be seen at the event in a mosque on the occasion of Ashura, the holiest day in the Shia Muslim calendar.
The footage shows Khamenei waving and nodding to the gathered crowd, who stood up when he entered the mosque.
State television states that the footage was taken at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in central Tehran.
Khamenei had been avoiding public appearances since the start of the conflict on June 13th, and all his speeches were pre-recorded.
Dispute with Trump
The United States (U.S.), which joined the Israeli attacks by bombing three key nuclear sites in Iran on June 22nd, sent warnings to Khamenei, and U.S. President Donald Trump said on social media that Washington knows where the Iranian leader is located but has no plans to kill him “at least for now.”
At the end of June, in pre-recorded statements broadcast on state television, Khamenei rejected Trump’s calls for Iran to surrender and said that Tehran had “slapped the U.S.” by targeting a U.S. airbase in Qatar.
Trump responded at a press conference and on social media: “Look, you are a man of great faith. A man who is highly respected in your country. You must tell the truth. You are completely defeated.”
Nuclear negotiations
Iran has acknowledged that more than 900 people have died in the war, as well as thousands wounded. Iranian missile strikes in retaliation killed at least 28 people in Israel.
A ceasefire between the two countries came into effect on June 24th.
Since then, Iran has confirmed serious damage to its nuclear facilities and has denied access to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
IAEA inspectors remained in the Iranian capital during the conflict, despite Israeli attacks on Iranian military sites, in which top Iranian commanders and leading scientists, as well as hundreds of civilians, were killed.
However, the inspectors left the country after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a law suspending cooperation with the IAEA on Wednesday.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi on Friday emphasized the “key importance” of dialogue with Iran in order to resume monitoring and verification activities of Iran’s nuclear program as soon as possible.
Iran had been negotiating with the U.S. over its nuclear program when the Israelis launched the attacks. The U.S. is seeking a new agreement after Trump withdrew the country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Iran signed with world powers in 2015.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated on Thursday that Iran remains committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), rejecting speculation that Iran might leave this international agreement, N1 writes.
