
Iran's Supreme Leader appears in public for first time since start of war
Iran has acknowledged the deaths of more than 900 people in the war, as well as thousands of injured.
It also has confirmed serious damage to its nuclear facilities, and has denied access to the sites for inspectors with the UN nuclear watchdog.
Mr Khamenei hosted a remembrance of the seventh century martyrdom of the Prophet Mohammed's grandson, Hussein, at a mosque next to his office and residence in the capital, Tehran.
Iranian officials such as the Parliament speaker were present, and such events are always held under heavy security.
Shiites represent over 10% of the world's 1.8 billion Muslims, and they view Hussein as the rightful successor to Mohammed.
Hussein's death in battle at the hands of Sunnis at Karbala, south of Baghdad, created a rift in Islam and continues to play a key role in shaping Shiite identity.
In predominantly Shiite Iran, red flags represented Hussein's blood and black funeral tents and clothes represented mourning.
Processions of chest-beating and self-flagellating men demonstrated fervour.
Some sprayed water over the mourners in the intense heat.
Israel relentlessly attacked Iran beginning on June 13, targeting its nuclear sites, defence systems, high-ranking military officials and atomic scientists.
In retaliation, Iran fired more than 550 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted, but those that got through caused damage in many areas and killed 28 people.

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Times
2 hours ago
- Times
How I reported on the London bombings — and the woman who cheated death
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Trauma inspired mostly silence. I talked to everyone, asking questions gently, acutely aware that I was asking people who had already been traumatised to relive it for me, more or less immediately. We did not know at the time how many had died, only that many had. It would later be confirmed that 13 people had died on the bus that day. Everyone's stories included a mix of the mundane ('I wanted to catch that bus') and what felt like fate ('What would have happened to me if I had?'). • 7/7: the day that changed London for ever I interviewed Jasmine Gardner, 22, while she was huddled under an emergency blanket and although she was shaking, her words were composed. She, and so many others, showed such courage that day. Afterwards I joined the crowds walking home, hearing the solid tramp tramping of feet. For me, that will always be the sound of resilience and London. 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No one knew how many had died on the bus but everyone assumed the worst. The police had cordoned off the square but, even at a distance, you could see the elegant façade of the British Medical Association splattered with bits of blood and bodies. 'Blood and guts,' whispered a man sadly as we stood at the cordon. 'Blood and guts.' Lorenzo Pia, an Italian postgraduate medical student, was leaving his nearby flat when he heard the blast. 'The bus was without shape,' he said. 'Four or five injured people were walking about. They were dripping with blood, some from the head, others from legs and arms. Five or six people were lying in the street. They were not moving 'One of the injured was a young teenage girl who had blood streaming down her face. Another, an elegantly dressed man, had a leg injury. A woman was crying. She had blood down her face too, but there wasn't any panic or screaming. People just got on with helping each other.' Sharleen Cunningham-Brown, 26, was walking along when she heard, and felt, the impact of the bomb. She saw people, presumed dead, on the pavement. She ran into a doorway, and hugged the strangers she found there. 'Everyone was crying and hugging each other,' she said. 'It was like it was chaos and then, a few seconds later, it was quiet.' It was some time before anyone spoke the word terrorism. Even then, it did not seem real. It was early evening before reports emerged on what had happened on the No 30. Terence Mutasa, a staff nurse at University College hospital, treated two passengers, young women in their twenties, for minor injuries and shock. 'They were saying some guy came and sat down on the bottom deck and that he exploded,' he said. 'They said the guy sat down and the explosion happened. They thought it was a suicide bomber.' Ayobai Bello, 43, a security guard, left his bank to cross Tavistock Road when it was flooded with commuters coming down from Euston. He saw the explosion and the top and back ripped off the bus. It was a scene of carnage. 'All I could think was, they are all dead. I saw all this with my own eyes. In front of me in the road was a woman but there were no arms and there were no legs, it was just her body and her head, and body parts were scattered everywhere. There were also two men on the floor, one in blue trousers and one in a shirt, they were both dead. They were both gone. The man I saw hanging dead from the bus, he was a very old man with white hair. He was about 80.' Hours later, in the streets around the bus, the atmosphere was eerie. Hotels and businesses were evacuated and scores of people trailed trolley suitcases behind them. There were no raised voices. Everyone was being most kind to one another. • 7/7 as it happened — by the reporter who covered it for a month The Friends House opened its doors to the displaced in Euston. Its corridors were lined with people wrapped in silver foil to keep warm. It provided refreshments, a quiet room for prayer, and large area where everyone gathered to listen to the radio. There was no hubbub. People just sat. A few seemed to be crying, privately. Others gathered in groups in doorways or in foyers of the large university buildings that dot this part of London. They stood around televisions to watch the news. Looking at the bus, from the police cordon, I knew that in hours it would become a shrine.


BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
Bereavement leave to be extended to miscarriages before 24 weeks
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Scottish Sun
7 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Iran's supreme leader the Ayatollah, 86, breaks cover with first appearance since Trump ordered Israel not to kill him
The Ayatollah's reappearance comes after rumours swirled about his safety MARKED FOR DEATH Iran's supreme leader the Ayatollah, 86, breaks cover with first appearance since Trump ordered Israel not to kill him Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) IRAN'S Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has broken cover for the first time since the 12-day war that saw the US and Israel strike Iran's nuclear sites. The 85-year-old appeared smiling on Saturday at a packed Tehran mosque - after reports he had spent days in a 'secure location'. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 7 Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made his first public appearance since the start of the 12-day war Credit: Getty 7 The Iran State Radio and Television (IRIB) building hit by an Israeli strike on June 16 7 US President Donald Trump claimed he 'saved' Khamenei 'from a very ugly and ignominious death' by Israel Credit: Getty It was Khamenei's first live appearance since war broke out on June 13, when Israeli forces launched a sudden wave of airstrikes on Iran's nuclear sites. The US joined in days later, bombing three major sites on June 22 - including the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility. Top Iranian military commanders and nuclear scientists were reportedly killed in brutal Israeli strikes, forcing Khamenei to vanish from public view. Since the air war began, he has given only prerecorded speeches - sparking rumours about his safety. But footage aired by Iranian state media on Saturday showed the leader smiling and waving to a crowd of chanting supporters at a mosque. Dozens of people were seen attending the event to mark Ashura - the holiest day of the Shia Muslim calendar. It comes 11 days after the ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Khamenei at the time appeared on state TV, boasting that Iran had dealt a 'slap to America's face' with a missile strike on a US airbase in Qatar. He said: 'The American regime entered a direct war because it felt that if it did not, the Zionist regime would be completely destroyed. "However, it gained no achievements from this war. Iran's Ayatollah breaks silence after WEEKS cowering in bunker during Israel's blitz and 'obliterating' Trump strikes 'Here, too, the Islamic Republic emerged victorious, and in return, the Islamic Republic delivered a severe slap to America's face.' US President Donald Trump took to social media to mock the claim and bragged that he had personally blocked an attempt to kill Khamenei. In a Truth Social post, Trump raged: "I SAVED HIM FROM A VERY UGLY AND IGNOMINIOUS DEATH. "And he does not have to say, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP!' 7 Satellite image of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Facility in Iran showing damage from the US strikes Credit: Reuters 7 Israeli Iron Dome air defence system intercepts missiles over Tel Aviv 7 Khamenei said Iran had delivered a 'slap to America's face' in his address to the nation after the ceasefire Credit: Reuters 7 Trump hit back saying Khamenei 'got beat to hell' Credit: EPA "I knew EXACTLY where he was sheltered, and would not let Israel, or the U.S. Armed Forces, by far the Greatest and Most Powerful in the World, terminate his life." Israeli officials had openly hinted that Khamenei was 'not off the table' as a potential target during the air war. But at the start of the war Trump claimed that while Khamenei was an "easy target", the US was "not going to take him out… at least not for now". The US president also blasted the Iranian leader's claims that Iran won the war. He wrote: "Why would the so-called 'Supreme Leader,' Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, of the war-torn Country of Iran, say so blatantly and foolishly that he won the War with Israel, when he knows his statement is a lie, it is not so. "As a man of great faith, he is not supposed to lie." It comes as Grand Ayatollah Naser Makarem Shirazi - one of Iran's most hardline clerics - issued a religious fatwa calling for the deaths of both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, branding them 'enemies of God'.