Iran holds memorial ceremony for former supreme leader Khamenei

Iranian authorities held a memorial ceremony on Tuesday for former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in the capital Tehran.

A large number of political, military, and religious officials participated in the service at the Imam Khomeini Mosque in northern Tehran.

Attendees included President Masoud Pezeshkian, Quds Force Commander Esmail Qaani, and Khamenei's sons Mostafa, Masoud, and Meysam, as well as former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ahmadinejad has denied a report by The New York Times alleging Israel's Mossad intelligence agency had sought to recruit him and that he is under house arrest.

Khamenei, who ruled Iran for nearly 36 years, was killed in a US-Israeli strike on Feb. 28 at the start of a joint offensive by Washington and Tel Aviv against Tehran. He was laid to rest last week in Mashhad, northeastern Iran.

Iran and the US signed a Pakistan-mediated memorandum of understanding last month aimed at ending their war and paving the way for a lasting peace agreement. Tensions, however, escalated between the two rivals in recent days, with the two sides exchanging attacks amid tensions over shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.