Iraqi Officials Feature Prominently at Raisi’s Memorial Service in Iran

A photo released by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office shows him seated with Iranian and Iraqi officials at the memorial service.
A photo released by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office shows him seated with Iranian and Iraqi officials at the memorial service.
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Iraqi Officials Feature Prominently at Raisi’s Memorial Service in Iran

A photo released by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office shows him seated with Iranian and Iraqi officials at the memorial service.
A photo released by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office shows him seated with Iranian and Iraqi officials at the memorial service.

Tehran held on Saturday a memorial service for late President Ebrahim Raisi and other officials who died in a helicopter crash last Sunday.

Iraqi officials featured prominently at the event as shown in photos released by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office.

Khamenei was seen seated among Iraqi religious clerics and politicians. Other foreign officials were not seated among them but elsewhere at the service.

Seated in the same row as Khamenei were head of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council Judge Faiq Zidan and major Iranian officials.

Iraq had said Zidan was traveling to Tehran to offer his condolences. President Abdul Latif Rashid had also headed to Iran with former Prime Ministers Adel Abdul Mehdi and Haidar al-Abadi and leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan Bafel Talabani.

Talabani enjoys strong ties with Iraq’s pro-Iran Coordination Framework and Iran itself.

Other Iraqi officials at the service were head of the Popular Mobilization Forces Faleh al-Fayyad, head of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq Qais al-Khazali, leader of the Hikma movement Ammar al-Hakim, and Kurdish politician Adham Barzani, known for his controversial stances,

Barzani has stirred controversy for backing Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Democratic Party’s traditional rival.



US Working to Evacuate Citizens from Israel, Ambassador Says

A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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US Working to Evacuate Citizens from Israel, Ambassador Says

A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
A drone photo shows the damage over residential homes at the impact site following missile attack from Iran on Israel, in Tel Aviv, Israel June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

The United States is working to evacuate US citizens wishing to leave Israel by arranging flights and cruise ship departures, US ambassador Mike Huckabee said in a post on X on Wednesday, as fears mount of further military escalation between Iran and Israel. 

The US embassy in Jerusalem was working on the evacuation arrangements, Huckabee said, urging Americans in the country to sign up for updates through the State Department's Smart Traveler program. 

"Urgent notice! American citizens wanting to leave Israel- US Embassy in Israel @usembassyjlm is working on evacuation flights & cruise ship departures. You must enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)," Huckabee wrote. 

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It was unclear how many Americans were seeking to depart Israel or whether the US military would assist with the evacuation flights.  

US President Donald Trump has veered from proposing a swift diplomatic end to the five-day-old war between Iran and Israel to suggesting the United States might join it. 

Since Friday, Iran has fired around 400 missiles at Israel, of which 40 have pierced air defenses, killing 24 people, all of them civilians, according to Israeli authorities.