President Trump this weekend mused in an interview with Axios that so many people and officials are currently gathered for Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's funeral in Tehran that they could all be taken out in one fell swoop.
"They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with," Trump said.
AFP via Getty ImagesHe again emphasized that the Iranians "are begging to make a deal" but said both sides decided to take a week off from the conflict as well as talks to give time for Khamenei's funeral events to end. There are major public events scheduled to go for up to a week.
Trump acknowledged that neither side will shoot at the other as the funeral procession and multi-city observances continued. Predictions in international press accounts have said events are expected to attract some 30 million mourners.
The first and second days of public funeral ceremonies in Tehran attracted millions of people, after Friday saw top representatives from at least 70 foreign governments pay last respects.
Amid the scenes of public mourning, and also with some Iranian officials loudly calling for 'revenge' - Trump made this interesting comment to Axios:
He added that he was surprised to see some Iranians crying at the funeral, saying he thought people hated Khamenei. "Maybe it's fake tears," Trump mused.
Footage and images of massive crowds of people packing out central Tehran squares and roads have flooded social media over the weekend. External critics and enemies of Iran have been claiming that millions of people were 'forced' by Iran's security services to attend the funeral.
⭕️🇺🇸 President Trump told Axios U.S.-Iran negotiations are paused until the funeral ceremonies for the late Iranian Supreme Leader conclude on July 9, saying both sides agreed to “take a week off” and that “neither side will shoot at the other” during that time.
Referring to… pic.twitter.com/MqabN3ojTJ
Al Jazeera's correspondent in Iran has described the following in a Sunday report:
Thousands and thousands of people are streaming through to pay their respects on the second day of the public farewell ceremony for the Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
We know that tomorrow, in the capital of Tehran, there will be a funeral procession, and we are expecting millions of people to attend.
Also on the schedule, the bodies of Khamenei and his slain family members are also going to be taken to the holy cities of Karbala and Najaf in Iraq.
Khamenei and his family members are later to be buried in the city of Mashhad, which is his birthplace. His surviving son, Mojtaba Khamenei - the current supreme leader - is still in hiding and has yet been seen at the funeral.
Reports say the Iranians are fearful that US and Israeli intelligence, or their potential spy assets on the ground, could track Mojtaba's movements if he were to make public appearance at his father's funeral.
🇮🇷 Aerial images are emerging of massive crowds of Iranians gathered for Ali Khamenei's funeral.
After today's ceremonies, the body will be moved to Qom on Tuesday and then to Iraq for further religious processions around holy sites and shrines before finally being buried on… https://t.co/bV5WNMm365 pic.twitter.com/FkDkKQM5Tj
As for Trump expressing 'surprise' that millions of Iranians would mourn the late Khamenei, this seems but the latest admissions (in a long familiar pattern) of Washington getting pretty much every key assumption wrong about Middle East states and cultures it seeks to do regime change it.
This also hearkens back to US claims in Iraq that they "would greet us as liberators"... the same sentiment was at times expressed just ahead of the Feb. 28 US-Israeli attack on Iran. But a mass uprising strong enough to topple the government never materialized - though the US and Israel tried to encourage this.
Tyler Durden Sun, 07/05/2026 - 18:05Just after 2:00 p.m. (ET) today, President Trump published the following statement on Truth Social:
What is he talking about? What is the "great injustice"?
As Noel S. Williams explains via American Thinker, he's referring to the moment during the U.S. vs. Bosnia & Herzegovina World Cup match when the referee issued a bizarre, unwarranted red card to star striker Folarin Balogun.
Initially, that made him ineligible to play in the crucial last-16 match against Belgium on Monday. Great or not, there was an injustice - I just hope Karma and those mercurial soccer gods agree in the coming days.
It's clear that Balogun didn't deliberately stamp on the B&H defender's ankle.
I just wonder, now that FIFA has bent over backward to re-institute his eligibility to play against Belgium, if that will dull the U.S. team's cutting edge. Sometimes, when a team feels "hard done by," it solidifies their sanctimonious indignation, giving them more power.
Our team is already pulling together, but the "great injustice" added more "all for one, and one for all" spirit.
Given President Trump's post, the spotlight has just intensified on an individual player.
Additionally, the media is piling on, increasing performance expectations upon a person they describe as our best striker (with some creative player repositioning, Christian Pulisic could be deployed as a striker). Plus, there are other options. We have brilliant players all over the field, actually.
LOL!!! “Nah bro I have the Trump card, I win.”
Trump card always wins! pic.twitter.com/gGTlmDm0wH
In a statement, the US Soccer Federation said:
WE ACCEPT THE DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE AND ARE PLEASED THAT FOLARIN BALOGUN IS ELIGIBLE TO COMPETE TOMORROW.
OUR FULL ATTENTION IS FOCUSED ON THE ROUND OF 16 MATCH AGAINST BELGIUM IN SEATTLE, AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO THE CONTINUED SUPPORT OF OUR AMAZING FANS.
Understandably, the Belgian Soccer Federation is furious:
"The Royal Belgian Football Association (RBFA) is astonished by FIFA's decision to declare suspended United States player Folarin Balogun eligible to play in the USA–Belgium match on Monday, 6 July at 5:00 p.m. (Seattle time).
FIFA bases its decision on Article 27 of the FIFA Disciplinary Code.
...
❗️In order to safeguard the legitimate rights of all participating teams and to protect the fundamental principles of fair play in our sport, both at this FIFA World Cup and at future editions of the tournament, the RBFA is investigating all potential options."
With the Belgian coach exclaiming: "I did not know that July 4th was April Fools day..."
pic.twitter.com/fpY45ODoFr
💣🗣️ Journalist:
“What is your reaction to the possibility of Folarin Balogun playing against you tomorrow?”
🎥 Rudi Garcia, visibly furious: 😱🔥
“As I told your colleague earlier during the one-on-one interviews, I didn’t know that at the World Cup,…
US odds improved after the suspension was lifted...
Go USA!
But before that, Go England!!
Tyler Durden Sun, 07/05/2026 - 17:30