The body of martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei is being transferred from Iraq to the holy city of Mashhad for the final funeral procession and interment after unprecedented funeral ceremonies in Najaf and Karbala drew millions of mourners. | The body of the martyred Leader departed Najaf Airport on Thursday bound for the holy city Mashhad, where the final stage of the funeral ceremonies and burial will take place at the holy shrine of Imam Reza (AS). ● The transfer follows historic and unprecedented funeral processions held over the past day in the Iraqi holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. ● According to organizers, the body's arrival in Mashhad has been delayed by several hours because of the extraordinary size of the crowds and repeated pauses during the funeral processions, particularly in Karbala, where mourners repeatedly surrounded the cortege to pay their final respects.

The US carried out strikes in southern Iran for the second night in a row on Thursday after President Donald Trump said the fragile ceasefire was effectively over. | Hostilities resumed after the US and its Arab allies in the region blamed Iran for attacks on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. [...] Iranian media reported explosions along the southern coast, including in the port cities of Bushehr, Chabahar, and Konarak, as well as on Lavan Island. At least two blasts were recorded near the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, Fars News Agency reported.

The spat came as the US resumed strikes in Iran in the most serious flare-up of hostilities since the countries signed a preliminary peace framework last month. | Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi did not mention Trump by name, Iranian state broadcaster Press TV said he was responding to comments the US president made earlier that day during a NATO summit in Türkiye. During a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump said he considered the ceasefire with Iran to be “over.”

The US struck targets in Iran for the second consecutive night on Thursday in what Trump called “retribution” for attacks on commercial ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. ● Iran said the renewed attacks violated the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed on June 17 and vowed to retaliate. ● Although Tehran has not officially admitted responsibility for the attacks on three tankers earlier this week, Iranian media cited officials as saying that the targeted ships attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz without authorization.

■ UPDATE -- U.S. ***DENIES*** July 9, 2026 2:20 PM EDT - The U.S. Is Attacking Iran Again (Hal Turner)
■ RESUMING UPDATES 10:25 PM EDT -- The U.S. is Attacking Iran, Again, Now. (Hal Turner)

The Russian Defense Ministry said it hit military-industrial enterprises and fuel and energy facilities in and around the Ukrainian capital | The Ukrainian capital and its suburbs were hit by a combined missile and drone strike early Monday morning, in what the Russian Defense Ministry called a response to terrorist attacks by Vladimir Zelensky’s government. ● The first wave of blasts in Kiev was heard at around 1:30 AM local time, followed by more explosions in multiple waves until 5 AM. Videos shared on social media showed numerous powerful blasts around the Ukrainian capital, some followed by secondary detonations, suggesting that a weapons depot, production facility, or air-defense system had been hit. ● The Russian Defense Ministry said it used long-range precision weapons and attack drones to hit Ukrainian military-industrial enterprises, fuel and energy facilities in Kiev and Kiev Region, and military airfield infrastructure across several regions in retaliation for “terrorist attacks” on civilian infrastructure inside Russia.

R. Hejazi | A major part of the international segment of the ceremonies was held yesterday. | The farewell, funeral procession, and burial ceremonies for the late leader of Iran’s Islamic Revolution, along with four members of his family who were killed in the U.S. attack on Iran on February 28, have now entered their public phase. The multi-day ceremonies are set to begin in Tehran, continue in Qom and Iraq, and ultimately conclude with the burial ceremony in Mashhad. ■ Organizers have described the series of events as one of the largest public and international ceremonies in history — an occasion that, beyond its official and political dimensions, is also intended to highlight popular participation and the broad presence of ordinary citizens. The public turnout in Iran, they say, can also be viewed as a form of public endorsement and a reaffirmation of the country’s governing system. ■ Tehran has taken on a different atmosphere in the hours leading up to the official start of the ceremonies. According to reports, even before the official opening time of the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla, sections of the complex had already become packed with people, with groups gathering around the venue hours before the programs were scheduled to begin. [...] Public ceremonies in Tehran are scheduled to be held on the 4th and 5th of July at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla, where large numbers of citizens, public groups, and domestic and foreign guests are expected to attend. [...] Over the coming days, the event will not only be remembered as a state ceremony, but as a moment intended to reflect the bond between a leader and those gathering to bid farewell.

 ■ Millions Say Farewell to Ali Khamenei | Ep. 239 (The Cradle)(VIDEO)
 ■ US launched global pressure campaign to deter nations from attending Leader's funeral (Press TV)
 ■ Iranians Attend Farewell Ceremony for Martyred Leader at Tehran's Grand Mosalla (Fars News)
 ■ International Delegations Pay Tribute to Iran’s Late Supreme Leader (07/03/26)
📌 Iran Will Definitely Take Management of Strait of Hormuz to a New Phase (Hamid Babaee)

Almost 8,500 Russian civilians have been killed and 22,500 people have been injured by the attacks of the Ukrainian armed forces since February 2022, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said on Friday. | "From February 2022 to June 30, 2026, the number of injured has already reached 30,913 people, of whom almost 8,434 people died," Miroshnik said at a briefing. From April to June, 422 Russian civilians were killed and more than 2,500 were injured by Ukrainian troops' attacks, the ambassador-at-large said, adding that 371 civilians were killed and 2,300 were injured in drone attacks during the given period.

■ Russia bombards Kyiv in deadliest strike this year, killing at least 27 people (CNA)
■ Deadly Russian Attack On Kyiv Kills 27 As Drones, Missiles Pound City; Zelenskyy Vows To Retaliate

International delegations and a wide range of political, religious, and cultural figures from across the world gathered in Tehran on Friday to pay tribute to Iran’s late Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during an official ceremony held at Imam Khomeini Mosalla.

 ● According to official statements, nearly 100 countries are participating in the ceremony through official delegations, political representatives, parliamentary figures, and public groups. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated that the event includes the participation of at least eight heads of government — including presidents and prime ministers — as well as 12 parliamentary speakers. Foreign ministers, cabinet members, and special envoys from numerous countries are also attending.

 ● Political figures, religious scholars, intellectuals, and cultural leaders from various regions of the world have taken part in the ceremony. Delegations from countries including India, Russia, Pakistan, Norway, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Cambodia, Greece, Sweden, Myanmar, Thailand, Indonesia, and Afghanistan were among those present to pay tribute.

■ Iran projects defiance and unity through Sayyed Ali Khamenei's funeral (Al Mayadeen)
■ Official delegations arrive in Tehran for funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei (Anadolu)
■ Iran warns US and ‘Zionist regime’ against attacks on Khamenei funeral (RT)

Private individuals can face criminal prosecution and even prison for sharing the broadcaster’s content online, according to a new ruling | The EU’s top court has ruled that private individuals can face criminal prosecution for posting RT videos on public websites, widening the bloc’s crackdown on Russian media. ● The Court of Justice of the European Union issued the ruling on Thursday in a case from Germany, where three people are being prosecuted for publishing RT DE videos on a freely accessible website. ● The site did not charge readers and was financed only through voluntary donations. The CJEU, however, said that made no difference and ruled that all persons who are “directly or indirectly” responsible for making banned content available to the public can be treated as “operators” under EU sanctions rules. [...]Under the German law cited in the ruling, violations of EU sanctions-based media bans can carry up to five years in prison.

■ How the EU uses polls to manufacture consent (07/02/26)

Trump weighs resuming ‘all-out war’ on Iran, chooses diplomacy ‘for now’: Report https://t.co/k4sluMfIMh

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) July 1, 2026

Maryanne Demasi, PhD | By the time Covid emerged in 2020, many of the global health power players moved seamlessly into roles they had spent years preparing for. | A cache of internal emails obtained from within the US National Institutes of Health has exposed years of strategic planning for future pandemics involving governments, foundations, international organisations, and pharmaceutical companies. The documents, stretching back to at least 2016, show that Dr Francis Collins, Director of the NIH from 2009 to 2021, was at the centre of these efforts. ■ In that role, he oversaw the allocation of the agency’s substantial research budget, which ran into tens of billions of dollars annually. The emails reveal Collins working closely with the Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, World Bank, World Economic Forum, the African Academy of Sciences, and major pharmaceutical companies to strengthen research infrastructure, regulatory readiness, and international coordination well before Covid appeared. ■ For the public, the Covid response was presented as an unexpected crisis. Governments appeared to be making difficult decisions while navigating profound uncertainty. But these emails tell a different story.

■ Strike on Kyiv. A detailed analysis of the targets hit (Lord Of War)

The Eurobarometer survey seems custom-designed to deliver the answers Brussels wants | The European Union’s in-house pollsters have concluded that their citizens overwhelmingly support the decisions made in Brussels, and want more of what the EU is giving them. It doesn’t take much digging to discover that someone is cooking the books. ● The topline results from the latest Eurobarometer survey paint a rosy picture of life in the EU. 75% of respondents see the EU “as a place of stability in a troubled world,” they value its “contribution to protecting peace and strengthening security,” and “vast majorities of Europeans” want deeper integration and more power for Brussels to “face global challenges,” with defense and security their top priority.

■ Leader of the Islamic Revolution martyred in cowardly Israeli-American aggression (03/01/26)

A clear pattern of attacks targeting children is evident, Justice S. Muralidhar told RT India. Muralidhar presented the findings of the UN panel on Tuesday and discussed the Israeli violations against children. | The attacks by Israel on Gaza show a targeted annihilation of children that should be punished, the head of a UN panel that probed the excesses told RT India. The violence unleashed by Israeli forces was “unjustified and disproportionate… in considerable terms,” Justice S. Muralidhar, the chair of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the occupied Palestinian territory, said in an exclusive interview.

The Gaza war began after the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage. Israel’s subsequent military operation devastated much of Gaza, killing over 73,000 Palestinians and injuring more than 173,000, according to the local health authorities.

Tarik Cyril Amar | While railways stall, hospitals fail and scandals spread, Brussels still finds endless billions for its pet proxy war | NATO-EU Europe, that tense, unhappy realm of deeply unpopular yet aggressively doctrinaire centrist regimes, has many grifts. ■ Its elites, whether national or EU, in business, politics, and the mainstream media and think-tank sinecure system are stunningly inept when it comes to addressing the urgent, even vital problems of their subjects. They could not care less about critical economic decline and general impoverishment, crumbling infrastructure, withering education, and scarce, unequal health care, to name only a few. ■ But the same elites are endlessly creative and tirelessly busy when looking after themselves, from top to bottom. Recent and countless examples of this ever more shameless divergence between not doing their job of looking after the public interest, on one side, and extensive as well as exclusive “self-care,” on the other, are easy to come by.