US threatens to cut aid if Khamenei’s funeral is disrupted

❐ International Desk

The United States has exerted extensive diplomatic pressure to prevent various countries from participating in the funeral and burial ceremony of the country’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, held in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

This information was reported by the Iranian news agency Tasnim in a report citing a relevant source.

Speaking to Tasnim on Friday, the senior source said that for the past five days, top US officials have been conducting a coordinated diplomatic campaign towards various countries, aimed at discouraging them from traveling to Tehran to pay their respects to Khamenei.

According to the source, on June 26, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio sent a secret directive to US embassies and diplomatic missions in various countries around the world.

In that directive, he said, the governments of the countries concerned must be made clear that the United States will consider participation in the funeral of the late Iranian leader as an ‘unfriendly act’, and that this decision could hurt the United States’ bilateral relations with the countries concerned.

Citing two Arab diplomats who did not wish to be named, the report also said that Marco Rubio had personally discussed the issue directly with the foreign ministers of at least five Arab countries and requested them not to attend the funerals.

In addition, US ambassadors to various African countries also warned the governments of the countries concerned that if they sent representatives to Khamenei’s funeral, US development assistance allocated to those countries could be reduced.

The report also claims that a key North African country downgraded its delegation to the funeral, fearing a potential negative impact on its relations with the United States.

According to the source’s assessment, at least 13 countries ultimately backed down from participating in funerals and burials under pressure from the United States. These 13 countries include three countries in Eastern Europe, five countries in Africa, two countries in the Persian Gulf region, and two countries in East Asia.

The report also noted that some countries that were unable to participate directly due to US pressure later expressed regret for their absence to Iran through various intermediaries, or through their diplomatic missions in Geneva and New York, and tried to explain the reasons for this decision.

In addition, some countries offered to send their diplomats already stationed in Tehran to the event as an alternative, but Iranian authorities rejected and did not accept the offer.