Iran State TV Hacked with Image of Khamenei in Crosshairs

Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)
Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)
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Iran State TV Hacked with Image of Khamenei in Crosshairs

Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)
Moments from the hacking of the Iranian news channel by the "Edalat-e Ali” group on Saturday evening (Reuters)

Hackers supporting Iran's wave of women-led protests interrupted a state TV news broadcast with an image of gun-sight crosshairs and flames over an image of supreme leader Ali Khamenei, in footage widely shared online on Sunday.

In other anti-regime messages, activists have spray-painted "Death to Khamenei" and "The police are the murderers of the people" on billboards in Tehran, said AFP.

"The blood of our youths is on your hands," read an on-screen message that flashed up briefly during the TV broadcast Saturday evening, as street protests sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, 22, again rocked Tehran and other cities.

"Police forces used tear gas to disperse the crowds in dozens of locations in Tehran," state news agency IRNA reported, adding that the demonstrators "chanted slogans and set fire to and damaged public property, including a police booth".

Anger has flared since the death of Amini on September 16, three days after she was arrested by the notorious morality police for an alleged breach of the Iranian republic's strict dress code for women.

"Join us and rise up," read another message in the TV hack claimed by the group Edalat-e Ali (Ali's Justice).

It also posted pictures of Amini and three other women killed in the crackdown that has claimed at least 95 lives according to Norway-based group Iran Human Rights.

Another 90 people were killed in Iran's far southeast, in unrest on September 30 sparked by the alleged rape of a teenage girl by a police chief in Sistan-Baluchestan province, said IHR, citing the UK-based Baluch Activists Campaign.

One Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps member was killed Saturday in Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, and a member of the IRGC's Basij paramilitary force died in Tehran from "a serious head injury following an armed attack by a mob," IRNA said -- in killings that raised the death toll among security forces to 14.

- Bloody crackdown -
Iran has been torn by the biggest wave of social unrest in almost three years, which has seen protesters including university students and even young schoolgirls chant "Woman, Life, Freedom".

In Amini's hometown Saqez, Kurdistan, schoolgirls chanted and marched down a street waving their hijab headscarves in the air, in videos the Hengaw rights group said were recorded on Saturday.

Gruesome footage has emerged from the state's often bloody response, spread online despite widespread internet outages and blocks on all the major social media platforms.

One video shows a man who was shot dead at the wheel of his car in Sanandaj, Kurdistan's capital, where the province's police chief, Ali Azadi, later charged he was "killed by anti-revolutionary forces".

Angry men then appear to take revenge on a member of the feared Basij militia, swarming him and beating him badly, in another widely shared video.

Yet another video clip shows a young woman said to have been shot dead in Mashhad in the country's northeast.

Many on social media said it evoked images of Neda Agha Soltan, a young woman who became an enduring symbol of the Iranian opposition after she was shot dead at protests in 2009.

- 'Not afraid anymore' -
In the face of the violence and the online restrictions, protesters have adopted new tactics to spread their message of resistance in public spaces.

"We are not afraid anymore. We will fight," read one large banner placed on an overpass of Tehran's Modares highway, seen in images verified by AFP.

In other footage, a man with a spray can is seen altering the wording of a government billboard on the same highway from "The police are the servants of the people" to "The police are the murderers of the people".

Several water features in the Iranian capital were said to have been colored blood-red, although the head of city's municipality parks organization Ali Mohamad Mokhtari insisted that "this information is completely false".

Iran has accused outside forces of stirring up the protests, as solidarity rallies have been worldwide. The United States, European Union and other governments have imposed new sanctions on Iran.

Iranian army commander Abdolrahim Mousavi said the force "will not permit any interference and aggression by any foreign powers in the country's internal affairs", IRNA reported Sunday.

IRNA also said students at universities in Tehran and in Bushehr in the country's south organized gatherings to condemn "the actions of rioters".

Iranian pop singer Shervin Hajipour -- who was arrested after his song "Baraye" went viral online and became a protest anthem -- appeared back in an Instagram video Sunday for the first time since his release.

In a short message, the 25-year-old denied links to any "movement or organization outside the country" and said his song was only meant to "express solidarity with the people".



Türkiye's Erdogan Says Israel Must Not Scupper US-Iran Deal

FILE PHOTO: Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
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Türkiye's Erdogan Says Israel Must Not Scupper US-Iran Deal

FILE PHOTO: Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Türkiye's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a press conference at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands June 25, 2025. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that Middle East peace efforts could not succeed without regional backing and that Israel must not be allowed to "dynamite" the US-Iran peace deal.

Speaking alongside Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Istanbul, Erdogan said: "No solution that does not take strength from the ⁠will and contributions ⁠of regional countries can be lasting."

Türkiye, a NATO member and Iran's neighbor, has repeatedly accused Israel of trying to undermine the US-Iran deal mediated by Pakistan, and has condemned ⁠Israeli operations in Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

"We are closely following the Israeli administration's attempts to dynamite the (US-Iran) deal... The current war-addicted Israeli government must not be allowed to drown our geography in the smell of gunpowder and blood again," Reuters quoted Erdogan as saying.

Erdogan also said Türkiye aimed to deepen cooperation with Pakistan ⁠in ⁠energy, transport, critical minerals, information technology and defense, while pursuing a bilateral trade target of $5 billion.

Earlier on Saturday, officials from both countries attended a business forum in Istanbul.

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said Turkish firms wanted to contribute to projects in Pakistan and share Türkiye 's energy-sector expertise as Pakistan undergoes a transformation of its electricity sector.


Mali: Insurgents Stage Attacks on Army, Russian Fighters

A general view shows traffic moving along a main road in Bamako on July 4, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A general view shows traffic moving along a main road in Bamako on July 4, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
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Mali: Insurgents Stage Attacks on Army, Russian Fighters

A general view shows traffic moving along a main road in Bamako on July 4, 2026. (Photo by AFP)
A general view shows traffic moving along a main road in Bamako on July 4, 2026. (Photo by AFP)

Insurgents in Mali staged attacks in five locations early on Saturday, including a northern town where government and Russian fighters are based and a town south of the capital Bamako, the latest threat to the landlocked Sahel nation's embattled leaders.

The assault targeted army positions in cities and towns including Anefis, Aguelhoc and Gao in northern Mali, Sevare in central Mali and Kenioroba in the south, the Malian armed forces said in a statement.

Soldiers repelled the attacks and the situation was "totally under control", the statement said, adding that 20 "terrorists" had been killed in Sevare and six in Gao. One pro-government fighter was killed in Gao and four others were injured, it said.

A spokesperson for a ⁠Tuareg-led rebel group, ⁠the Azawad Liberation Front (FLA), said it was involved in Saturday's attacks. The group partnered with the regional al Qaeda affiliate, Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal Muslimin (JNIM), in April in a coordinated, high-profile operation that hit the airport in the capital Bamako and killed the defense minister.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from JNIM.

The FLA's spokesperson, Mohamed Elmaouloud Ramadane, said the group's fighters had entered Anefis, in the northeastern Kidal region.

Government and Russian troops were deployed there after the April attacks, having ⁠previously been driven from the strategic town of Kidal.

Reuters could not independently verify the claim.

In Gao, a local official said gunfire and rocket attacks targeting a military camp had continued since before dawn, though it was not immediately clear who was responsible.

"No one could go out this morning... the Malian Armed Forces have blocked all the streets. We're in our homes," a Gao resident said. "The noise was so intense it felt like the roof was going to collapse."

In Sevare, a resident told Reuters that early morning gunfire was followed by four large explosions in the west of the city at around 8 a.m. local time (0800 GMT). Even heavier detonations were heard in the town at around 10 a.m., the resident said.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.

Kenioroba is home ⁠to a prison holding ⁠members of Mali's political opposition. A diplomatic source and a security source said the prison was attacked, though one said security forces repelled the assailants.

A government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The attacks highlight the failure of Mali's military leaders, who seized power in coups in 2020 and 2021, to deliver the improved security they promised.

In September 2024, JNIM attacked a paramilitary police training school near the Bamako airport, killing about 70 people. More recently, it carried out a fuel blockade that has starved the capital's residents and businesses of power and supplies.

Mali's government has recently pursued closer ties with Washington, which has sought to rebuild cooperation on security and explore mining opportunities.

Russia, whose Africa Corps forces are backing the government, vowed to stand by Mali after the attacks in April.


Iran Begins Dayslong Funeral for the Late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran. Millions are expected to flood the streets of Tehran in the coming days. (AP Video: Bassam Hatoum)
An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran. Millions are expected to flood the streets of Tehran in the coming days. (AP Video: Bassam Hatoum)
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Iran Begins Dayslong Funeral for the Late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran. Millions are expected to flood the streets of Tehran in the coming days. (AP Video: Bassam Hatoum)
An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran. Millions are expected to flood the streets of Tehran in the coming days. (AP Video: Bassam Hatoum)

Hundreds of thousands of mourners began a dayslong funeral Saturday for Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, calling for revenge against Israel and the United States.

The funeral for Khamenei, who ruled Iran for decades before he was killed at age 86 in a Feb. 28 airstrike in the opening moments 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 US over a permanent end to the war and as concern lingers that Israel could attack again. The funeral was delayed as the war raged.

During the ceremony, Iran's top negotiator warned France and the United Kingdom over their comments about potentially launching joint patrols in the waterway, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which a fifth of all oil and natural gas once passed in peacetime.

Coffins are on display at Grand Mosalla An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran. There was a chair like the one he once sat in while giving his sermons, complete with a microphone on a stand and a table next to it. Above it hung an image of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who died in 1989, The AP news reported.

Khomeini's funeral saw chaotic scenes as millions thronged his mourning ceremony and trip to the cemetery. Khamenei's death was only the second time Iran has lost a supreme leader since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

On Saturday, volunteers sprayed cooling water on crowds in the summer heat. Men and women congregated separately inside the Grand Mosalla after being checked by metal detectors and body searches. Police with assault rifles stood guard on surrounding streets. Many people stayed outside in the street, lounging under the shade of trees because the city had shut down.

The caskets of his dead family members sat beneath Khamenei's, which had his black turban atop it, identifying him as a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. The dead included the wife of Mojtaba Khamenei, whose possible appearance at the funeral remained unclear. He reportedly was wounded in the attack that killed his father and has not been seen publicly since the war began.

“We attended the funeral to show that we are all committed to defend our country and religion,” said Ali Kazemi, who came from the northwestern city of Tabriz, some 530 kilometers (330 miles) from Tehran.

Funeral starts as US marks its 250th anniversary Iran chose July 4, the 250th anniversary of the creation of the US, to begin the funeral. While authorities did not acknowledge the timing, crowds at the ceremony in Tehran chanted: “Death to America!” The refrain has been common in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and US Embassy takeover and hostage crisis. They also cried: “Death to Israel!”

“We knocked the hell out of Iran,” US President Donald Trump said in a speech at the same time in South Dakota in front of Mount Rushmore. “They want to settle so badly. We gave them a week off for a funeral.”

As the ceremony went on, Iran's chief negotiator Kazem Gharibabadi criticized a joint statement overnight from British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron which suggested their militaries stood ready to patrol the Strait of Hormuz.

Control of the strait has been a major point of leverage for Iran, which has suggested it wants to charge vessels passing through it, upending decades of it being widely considered an international waterway.

“The security of Hormuz lies with the coastal states — the crisis-makers will be held accountable for the consequences of their adventurism,” Gharibabadi wrote on X. “This is a serious warning.”

Khamenei will be buried Thursday in Mashhad Khamenei’s body will be transported to cities in Iran and neighboring Iraq. Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life for the mourning, which will end Thursday as he is buried at the Imam Reza shrine in Mashhad, Khamenei's place of birth.

Authorities offered no immediate attendance count for the event Saturday, which saw the crowds circulate in and out of the Grand Mosalla and surrounding streets. Other cities across Iran also held mourning ceremonies.

On Sunday, a prayer for the dead is planned at the Grand Mosalla. On Monday, Khamenei's body and those of his family will be taken through the streets of Tehran, which likely will draw large crowds.

“I am here to say goodbye to my beloved leader Ali Khamenei,” said a weeping Hananeh Mousavi, 27, who attended the funeral alongside her mother. “I never expected to see such a day. I wish I had died before this tragedy.”