Khamenei representative says Guards ready for any order

Hezbollah must continue fighting Israel in Lebanon to prevent the conflict from reaching Iran, Alireza Salimi, a member of the Iranian parliament's presiding board, said on Saturday.

"Iran has not been alone in this war, and Lebanon is part of the war. Lebanon is our strategic depth," Salimi said in remarks broadcast by state television.

If Hezbollah did not fight in Beirut, he added, Iran would have to confront Israeli soldiers "on the borders of Tehran and Kermanshah and elsewhere."

Salimi described the issue as "vital and serious" for Iran.

Authorities are considering holding slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's funeral procession airborne to reduce crowding and improve security, the governor of Razavi Khorasan province said on Saturday.

Gholamhossein Mozaffari said the proposal, put forward by the provincial security council, was likely to be implemented because it would ease crowd management and provide safer conditions.

Officials have announced that Khamenei is due to be buried in the northeastern city of Mashhad on July 9.

Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei’s representative to the Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that the force would never reconcile with the United States and remained committed to Israel’s destruction.

Abdollah Haji-Sadeghi said any negotiations with Washington would not aim at peace or friendship, citing religious grounds for hostility.

The Guards view US power as harmful to the Muslim world and consider fighting it a permanent duty, Haji-Sadeghi said.

Egypt and Jordan condemned Iran's drone attack on Bahrain on Saturday, expressing support for the kingdom and warning of its impact on regional security.

Egypt's foreign ministry said the attack violated Bahrain's sovereignty and threatened efforts to reduce regional tensions and strengthen peace. Jordan also slammed th attack, saying it breached international law and the UN Charter.

Both countries reaffirmed their full support for Bahrain and its efforts to protect its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.

Gulf Cooperation Council Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi condemned the Iranian drone attacks on Bahrain, saying they targeted civilian facilities and critical infrastructure.

Albudaiwi said the attacks came as international and regional efforts were underway to consolidate peace and security, and accused Tehran of trying to undermine efforts to contain the crisis.

He said the GCC fully supported all measures taken by Bahrain to protect its security, sovereignty and territorial integrity.