Crowds Bid Farewell to Khamenei in Iranian City of Qom

Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
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Crowds Bid Farewell to Khamenei in Iranian City of Qom

Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Mourners attend a prayer for Iran's slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed on February 28 in Israeli and US airstrikes, at the Jamkaran Mosque, in Qom, Iran, July 7, 2026. Mohammad Asadi/ISNA/via WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

Thousands of people took to the streets on Tuesday in the Iranian city of Qom during a fourth day of marathon funeral proceedings for late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

The remains of Khamenei, who was killed in late February on the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran, are lying in state at the Jamkaran Mosque in Qom.

Aerial footage broadcast by state television showed the streets of Qom -- home to about 1.5 million people -- packed with mourners.

The massive crowd at the service chanted in unison, "death to America", a rallying cry frequently heard at official gatherings in Iran.

Other television footage showed mourners, including clerics, paying their respects at the coffins of Khamenei and four relatives killed alongside him, including a granddaughter reportedly only 14 months old.

The previous day, a lengthy funeral procession in Tehran drew huge crowds, with authorities keen to project an image of strength and unity following the war, and after massive, bloody anti-government protests across Iran six months ago.

Iranians flooded the streets of the capital in an event comparable to the 1989 funeral of Khamenei's predecessor, Khomeini, the founder of the republic.

But so far in the ceremonies there has been no sign of Khamenei's successor and son Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in early March.

Iranian officials have said he was wounded in the airstrike that killed his father and it remains unknown if he will appear for the ceremonies.

Another funeral procession is scheduled to be held on Wednesday in neighboring Iraq, which is home to a large Shiite community.

The final burial of Khamenei, who ruled Iran for over three decades until his death at the age of 86, will take place on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad, a city in the northeast of the country.



US Hits Remaining Parts of Iran’s Aviation Sector with Sanctions in Latest Move to Isolate Tehran

 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference, as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 1, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference, as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 1, 2026. (Reuters)
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US Hits Remaining Parts of Iran’s Aviation Sector with Sanctions in Latest Move to Isolate Tehran

 US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference, as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 1, 2026. (Reuters)
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference, as finance ministers and central bank governors from G20 countries meet in Asheville, North Carolina, US, September 1, 2026. (Reuters)

The Trump administration on Tuesday imposed sanctions on additional aspects of Iran's aviation industry, targeting more than two dozen commercial and private airlines as well as foreign cargo service providers in its new push to isolate Tehran from its remaining trading partners.

The latest actions are part of the Trump administration’s Operation Economic Outcast campaign that is aimed at severing “critical financial lifelines” for the already heavily sanctioned Iranian government.

The new penalties are focused on the remaining facets of Tehran's already beleaguered aviation ecosystem, which has been under countless sanctions from Washington for years.

“Let this be a warning to anyone doing business with Iran’s remaining airlines, all of which we sanctioned today: You are at risk of being cut off from the global financial system,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a press release.

The Trump administration accused the 36 entities targeted this week of supporting Tehran’s efforts to use its aviation sector to move weapons, personnel, and illicit cargo.

It also claimed that private entities based in Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan and Malaysia have provided parts and logistics services to Iran’s Mahan Air.

The airline has been subject to US counterterrorism sanctions since 2019 for its support for Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, which the State Department has designated a foreign terrorist organization.


Russia Says Putin, Trump Had ‘Frank’ Call After US Envoys Visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to acting governor of Tver region Vitaly Korolyov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to acting governor of Tver region Vitaly Korolyov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Russia Says Putin, Trump Had ‘Frank’ Call After US Envoys Visit

Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to acting governor of Tver region Vitaly Korolyov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to acting governor of Tver region Vitaly Korolyov during their meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. (Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin and US counterpart Donald Trump had an "extremely frank" phone call on Tuesday, after US negotiators visited Moscow over the weekend, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters, including AFP.

Steve Witkoff, who is Trump's business ally, and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, visited the Russian and Ukrainian capitals at the weekend for talks with both Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

In a one-hour call on Tuesday, Putin and Trump "exchanged views on the outcome of the visits", Ushakov said.

The talks brought no immediate breakthrough in the four-and-a-half-year war that is Europe's bloodiest conflict since World War II.

Ushakov said Putin presented to Trump an "objective and detailed analysis" of the frontline situation.

The Kremlin leader routinely says his troops are advancing across the entire front, with the capture of the entire eastern Donbas a matter of time.

He also "pointed out what the Americans could realistically do to bring the hostilities to a swift conclusion," Ushakov said, without elaborating.

Moscow has shown no signs of dropping its maximalist conditions to end the war, including a demand that Ukraine cede territory in the east that Russia's troops have not captured.

Putin also told Trump that Russia had "no aggressive plans" towards Europe, Ushakov said.

The Kremlin has over the summer been accused of ratcheting up a sabotage campaign against Ukraine's European backers -- accusations it has denied.

"In view of the speculation regarding Russia's alleged hostile intentions towards European states, it was emphasized that we have absolutely no aggressive plans whatsoever towards Europe," Ushakov said.

"The myths being spread about the Russian threat serve as a pretext for Europeans to ramp up support for Ukraine and their own military spending," he added.

Fueling the concerns over Russia's intentions, CIA chief John Ratcliffe paid a surprise visit to Moscow in late August, with US media reporting he warned Russia against attacking any NATO country.


Serbia Crosses ‘Red Line’ as War Criminal Funeral Sparks Outrage

A photograph taken on September 7, 2026 shows a monument reading the figure "8372...", representing the minimum recorded number of victims of the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre at the Srebrenica-Potocari Genocide Memorial and Cemetery in Potocari, near Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (AFP)
A photograph taken on September 7, 2026 shows a monument reading the figure "8372...", representing the minimum recorded number of victims of the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre at the Srebrenica-Potocari Genocide Memorial and Cemetery in Potocari, near Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (AFP)
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Serbia Crosses ‘Red Line’ as War Criminal Funeral Sparks Outrage

A photograph taken on September 7, 2026 shows a monument reading the figure "8372...", representing the minimum recorded number of victims of the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre at the Srebrenica-Potocari Genocide Memorial and Cemetery in Potocari, near Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (AFP)
A photograph taken on September 7, 2026 shows a monument reading the figure "8372...", representing the minimum recorded number of victims of the July 1995 Srebrenica massacre at the Srebrenica-Potocari Genocide Memorial and Cemetery in Potocari, near Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (AFP)

Bosnia's foreign minister on Tuesday expelled two Serbian diplomats and accused Belgrade of crossing "every red line" after several of its officials attended a funeral for war criminal Ratko Mladic.

At least six Serbian ministers were among thousands that attended Monday's funeral service which openly praised Mladic, who died last month in The Hague while serving a life sentence for war crimes committed during the Bosnian war.

The scenes in the capital of a European Union candidate country also drew condemnation from outside the Balkans, with EU chiefs Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa labelling the attendance of Serbian officials "deeply regrettable".

"Serbia's path into the European Union requires an unequivocal commitment to fundamental European values and historical truth," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on X.

Bosnia's foreign minister Elmedin Konakovic said he had ordered the defense envoy and an adviser of Serbia's intelligence service to leave the country.

Earlier he said he would recall Sarajevo's embassy staff from Serbia in an attempt to cut diplomatic ties to the "lowest possible level".

"They crossed every red line with what they did yesterday, the day before, and in the days leading up to the reception," Konakovic told a press conference in Sarajevo.

- 'Lip service' -

Despite Mladic's convictions, Serb nationalists and pro-government media still embrace him as a hero. Mourners wore shirts emblazoned with his face and held banners praising the former general during Monday's event.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, who did not attend the funeral, has rejected allegations of glorifying Mladic and insisted that the service was organized by the family, not the state.

But the attendance of ministers, alongside the use of soldiers and a government plane to bring Mladic's body to Belgrade has sparked outrage.

"If this is not state involvement, what is?" Emir Suljagic, the director of the Srebrenica memorial center, said on X.

Mladic was sentenced for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during Bosnia's 1990s war -- including his role in the killing of some 8,000 people in Srebrenica.

Suljagic said the statements from Brussels were not enough.

"We have had enough of people paying lip service to the victims while proceeding to shake hands with politicians dreaming of future genocides," he said.