Qatar condemns Iranian attacks on Jordan, Bahrain and Kuwait

The responses shared with Iran International and posted on X and Instagram pointed less to enthusiasm for military escalation than to exhaustion after nearly four months of conflict. Many described life in a state of “neither war nor peace,” where even short-term decisions have been put on hold.

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They spoke of worsening economic pressure, constant anxiety and tighter security conditions, as the United States and Iran traded a fresh round of attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, throwing their fragile agreement to end the war into deeper doubt.

The US military said it struck about 90 targets across Iran after Trump said the interim deal with Tehran is over for him, citing Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

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  Trump says Iran memorandum is over, calls Tehran leaders 'scums'

Iran responded with strikes on US-linked targets in Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait, as both sides accused each other of violating the interim agreement.

The Pentagon said it targeted Iranian military sites involved in attacks on commercial shipping.

Iran’s foreign ministry said the US strikes hit civilian infrastructure, including two railway bridges on the route to Mashhad, where authorities planned to bury former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on Thursday. Fars said one was the Aq Taqeh Khan railway bridge in Golestan province, part of a northern route to China and Russia that became more important after the US blockade of Iran’s Persian Gulf ports.

Many messages sent to Iran International linked the timing of the strikes to Khamenei’s funeral, saying they disrupted what the Islamic Republic had tried to stage as a show of unity and political continuity.

“I hope this time the war makes a difference and this cancer is removed from the root. We’re all suffering,” one citizen wrote.

Others saw Trump’s tougher language as a sign that diplomacy with Tehran had reached a dead end.

“Should we tell Trump, ‘We told you so,’ or is it still too early?” one message read.

Another wrote: “Mr. Trump seems to have only just realized what kind of creature he is dealing with.”

Several urged Trump not to return to negotiations.

“Mr. Trump, Mr. Netanyahu and NATO leaders, have you realized yet that negotiating with the Islamic Republic is a waste of time?” one message said.

Another person in Tehran wrote: “Mr. Trump, you say bad days are coming for Iran. Come here for one day. If you find even one good day under the Islamic Republic, you’ll see the hell they have created for the people.”

Hope tempered by fear

Despite welcoming Trump's apparent shift away from diplomacy, several said they feared another drawn-out conflict that would deepen economic hardship without bringing meaningful political change.

"Mr. Trump, please stop. We don't know whether to worry about war, inflation, the dollar or our future," one citizen wrote.

Another said: "I'm only worried that war starts again but nothing changes. If war is inevitable, I hope it benefits the people of Iran."

Some openly encouraged stronger military action.

"President Trump, please finish the job quickly. People, don't lose hope. Our day of freedom is near," one message read.

Another added: "I'm a Trump supporter. I like him. He's a superpower that nobody can challenge. But sometimes he goes off script. Please, President Trump, finish the job this time. It's hard living in your own country with a group of criminals."

Others remained skeptical, saying Trump's previous preference for negotiations made them doubt whether the latest strikes would ultimately produce lasting change.

'Mohammad Something' becomes an instant meme

Trump's remarks on Wednesday also generated a wave of satire after he seemingly referred to chief negotiator Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf as "Mohammad something" while describing US surveillance of Iran's nuclear facilities.

The phrase quickly became one of the most widely shared jokes among Persian-language users on X, spawning countless memes aimed at senior Iranian officials.

X user Amin Parvin wrote: "We are living in a state of no war, no peace, no ceasefire and Mohammad Something."

Another user wrote: "Mohammad Something, Mojtaba (Khamenei) Nothing. You've become the laughing stock of the world."

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Many directed the joke at Ghalibaf’s page after Trump appeared unable to recall his name.

"Mohammad Something, write your will. Trump didn't even bother learning your surname," one post said.

Another wrote: "Mohammad Something, it looks like this time it's your turn."

Reading Trump's strategy

Beyond the humor, users also debated whether Trump's harsher rhetoric signaled the abandonment of diplomacy or a negotiating tactic designed to force Iranian concessions.

"Trump is playing cat and mouse with them. He doesn't want a full-scale war yet. He's waiting for their response before deciding what to do next," one X user wrote.

Another posted: "I'm genuinely happy Trump is finally seeing their true nature."

Others argued Trump still preferred a negotiated settlement but believed military pressure had become his principal leverage.

"Trump loves being able to say he defeated them without war, so he's trying to disarm them through negotiations," one user wrote. "But their file is closed. Trump himself has said they'll lose their uranium either through negotiations or through war."

After funeral processions in Tehran and Qom, the coffins of Khamenei and several members of his family, who were killed in the February 28 US-Israeli attack, were taken on Tuesday to Najaf, home to the shrine of Imam Ali, one of the holiest sites in Shiite Islam.

They were transferred on Wednesday to Karbala, home to the shrine of Imam Hussein. Both cities carry deep religious symbolism for Shiites, especially in narratives of martyrdom, sacrifice and political defiance.

Political analyst Iman Aghayari told Iran International that the Islamic Republic was using the ceremonies to present Khamenei’s influence as extending beyond Iran’s borders.

He said Tehran also wanted to signal to Western governments that its influence in countries hosting allied armed groups “is not confined to those proxy forces, but is rooted among the people of those countries as well.”

A funeral staged across Shiite centers

A number of current and former Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, along with Shiite and Sunni political, military and religious figures, welcomed the funeral delegation at Najaf airport.

The delegation was led by Khamenei’s eldest son, Mostafa Khamenei, and accompanied by President Masoud Pezeshkian, who cut short his visit and returned to Tehran early Wednesday following renewed US military strikes.

The Iraqi government declared Wednesday a public holiday to facilitate attendance and organized transportation for mourners traveling to Najaf and Karbala.

Iranian state media, citing Iraqi officials and the Popular Mobilization Forces, said more than two million people attended the ceremony in Najaf, while participation in Karbala was reported to be more than double that number.

The figures could not be independently verified.

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A claimed display of strength

Supporters of the Islamic Republic portrayed the ceremonies as proof of regional solidarity behind the so-called Axis of Resistance, Tehran’s network of allied governments, militias and political movements across the Middle East.

Esmail Qaani, commander of the IRGC’s Quds Force, said the funeral procession in Iraq would “make the red line of vengeance more prominent” and “further strengthen the united resolve of the Iraqi and Iranian peoples against American conspiracies.”

Defa Press, a news agency affiliated with Iran’s armed forces, described the ceremonies as “a transnational display of the Axis of Resistance’s power and confidence,” saying they showed political unity between Iran and Iraq.

Writing for the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency, political commentator Aghil Emami argued that the funeral proved the two nations’ loyalty to “shared ideals and the transnational leadership of the Islamic Revolution.”

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Religious symbolism and political messaging

Holding funeral ceremonies in Iraq – home to one of the world’s largest Shiite populations after Iran – carried both religious and political value for the Islamic Republic.

Iranian state media and some Iraqi Shiite politicians and outlets framed the processions through the language of Imam Hussein’s martyrdom, presenting Shiites as a unified political community confronting what they called “American arrogance” across the region.

For Tehran, the symbolism was especially important after Khamenei’s death and amid uncertainty over the future of its regional network.

The ceremonies allowed Iranian officials and supporters to link Khamenei’s legacy to the shrines of Najaf and Karbala, while also trying to reinforce the religious legitimacy of the Islamic Republic and of his successor.

The hardline X account Rah-e Deylami argued that Iraq, once Iran’s wartime enemy in the 1980s, had become “one of the pillars of the Axis of Resistance thanks to the blood of the martyred leader” and his policies.

It also pointed to mourners carrying photographs of Mojtaba Khamenei, saying the funeral had become “a ceremony of allegiance to his worthy successor” and that “Khamenei’s Iraqi followers have come to declare that they will continue this path.”

Such claims are difficult to measure against actual public sentiment in Iraq, where attitudes toward Iran and Iran-backed groups have long been mixed and politically contested.

The scene, filmed in Karbala and circulated by Reuters, showed a large crowd surrounding a refrigerated truck marked with orange-and-white logos resembling those of Finland’s K Group, part of the retail giant Kesko. Men in dark clothing then pulled a coffin from the frosted rear compartment and carried it above the crowd.

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The footage was filmed during the Iraqi leg of Khamenei’s funeral processions, which moved through Najaf and Karbala before his planned burial in Mashhad on July 9.

The image quickly drew attention in Finland, where Finnish tabloid Ilta-Sanomat described the sight as “incredible” and said Finns may have had to “rub their eyes” when they saw what looked like familiar K-Market-style branding in the middle of Khamenei’s funeral. Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest daily newspaper, also reported the story.

Yle, Finland’s public broadcaster, ran the story under the headline: “Was Khamenei’s coffin pulled from a K-Group vehicle in Iraq?” It said the Reuters video showed a cold transport truck with orange coloring and repeated K letters that appeared to resemble K Group logos.

Kesko told Yle it had no information about the vehicle and had only become aware of the case through the images.

The company said its deliveries are handled by partner-owned vehicles and that Kesko does not have its own fleet. It suggested one possibility was that a transport partner had sold a vehicle onward without removing K-Group markings.

“This may be a situation where one of our transport partners failed to remove decals referring to us when selling equipment onward,” Kesko told Yle by email.

The company said it would remind transport operators that such decals must be removed before vehicles are sold.

There is no indication that Kesko or K-Market had any involvement in Khamenei’s funeral procession or that the company owned or operated the truck.

The strange visual detail stood out because of the contrast: one of the Islamic Republic’s most symbolic funeral ceremonies, a coffin kept cold after months of delayed burial, and what appeared to be the branding of a Finnish grocery chain on the vehicle carrying it through Karbala.

Iran's foreign ministry said it handed the ambassador a protest note rejecting what it called "groundless and false" British statements that Tehran had sought to carry out security-related activities in the United Kingdom.

Britain summoned Iran's chargé d'affaires on Tuesday after George Stana and Nandito Badea were sentenced to 12 years and eight years in prison, respectively, for their role in the 2024 attack on Pouria Zeraati, an Iranian-British journalist who works for Iran International.

Zeraati was stabbed three times in the leg near his home in southwest London in March 2024.

British prosecutors said the two Romanian nationals were acting as proxies for the Iranian government. They had pleaded not guilty to wounding with intent but were convicted at London's Woolwich Crown Court.

Judge links attack to Iranian state

The British Foreign Office said the judge had concluded that the attack was carried out "in the interests of, and on behalf of, the Iranian state."

According to a police statement, the judge ruled that the "foreign power condition" under Britain's National Security Act was met in Stana's case because of "extensive planning and his lengthy involvement in the plot", indicating that he knew, or at least should have known, of the connection to the Iranian state.

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  Romanian men get combined 20 years over Iran International journalist attack

The police statement said the condition was not met in Badea's case because he was not aware of the Iran connection as the reason for the attack.

Tehran rejects British move

Iran's foreign ministry rejected Britain's statements as "groundless and false" and said they amounted to an attempt to divert attention from Britain's own conduct.

Britain's Foreign Office said the case followed "a longstanding pattern of hostile activity by the Iranian intelligence services on UK soil" and said Iran must stop such activity immediately. Iran's embassy in London has rejected what it called "unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations."

Iran's foreign ministry also called on Britain to stop hosting media outlets that Tehran said were "funded and directed by the Israeli regime." It said Britain should end such activity "as soon as possible."

The group’s announcement that it is dissolving the governing body that administered Gaza for nearly two decades has been presented as a significant political concession under a US-backed roadmap for the enclave’s future.

But analysts who spoke to Iran International say the move is largely cosmetic, leaving Hamas’s military structure intact and doing little to alter its long-standing relationship with Iran.

Rather than abandoning Hamas, Iran has simply shifted its priorities, they argue, placing Hezbollah and Lebanon ahead of Gaza while quietly maintaining ties with the group.

"It's not even symbolic, it's a lie," said Beni Sabti, an Iran researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS). "The real thing is not even the disarmament. The ideology is still there."

The announcement dissolves Hamas’s civilian governing body, but leaves unanswered whether the group is willing to surrender its weapons and relinquish control over Gaza’s security apparatus.

For Sabti, that omission is the entire story.

"Iran is acting behind the curtains, also for Hamas," he said.

Recent developments suggest the relationship remains active despite Tehran’s muted public rhetoric.

Before the Iran-US memorandum was signed, a Hamas military spokesman said Iranian officials had pledged to help secure a ceasefire in Gaza.

Hamas representatives also traveled to Tehran for Ali Khamenei’s funeral, where they met senior Iranian officials, including Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.

To Sabti, those contacts suggest Tehran has not changed its long-term strategy. Instead, it has temporarily reordered its priorities.

"Hezbollah is the most important," he said, arguing Iran has historically never abandoned its proxy groups.

The timing of Hamas’s announcement also reflects mounting pressure on the group.

It comes amid a US-backed political process for Gaza’s future, sustained pressure from Egypt and Qatar, renewed political competition from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and growing anti-Hamas protests inside Gaza itself.

Dalia Ziada, a Middle East analyst with ISGAP, argues Hamas’s announcement was designed to respond to those pressures without making the one concession demanded by Israel and much of the international community.

"They were forced to say something, not to do something," she said.

According to Ziada, Hamas has not agreed to disarm, dismantle its military wing or remove the network of loyalists embedded throughout Gaza’s civilian institutions.

"The international community is dealing with Hamas as a political entity," she said. "But no. This is a terrorist militia."

Ziada believes Tehran’s current restraint reflects pragmatism rather than a strategic break.

"Hamas is not profitable anymore," she said, arguing the group has become more of a liability than an asset following Israel’s campaign against its leadership. "If Hamas survives this situation... of course Iran will snap back."

Former Israeli intelligence official Avi Melamed agrees Hamas’s announcement should not be mistaken for a genuine transfer of power.

"I don't think that anyone really takes it seriously," he said.

Melamed argues Iran views Hamas primarily as a strategic instrument rather than an ideological partner.

"The relationship has been always clear. Hamas is a useful servant for the Iranian regime."

For Tehran, he says, Hezbollah remains the crown jewel of its regional network, while Hamas occupies a lower place in what he describes as the "food chain."

"Hamas and Islamic Jihad know their place in the food chain," Melamed said.

That hierarchy helps explain why Lebanon featured prominently in the Iran-US memorandum while Gaza did not.

The announcement may ease diplomatic pressure and create space for negotiations over Gaza’s future. But without disarmament, analysts argue, it changes little about the balance of power on the ground.

Hamas may be stepping away from civilian administration. Its military structure remains intact. And despite Tehran’s public silence, few expect Iran’s relationship with Hamas to disappear.