A senior aide to the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has declared that the Islamic Republic has no intention of entering into negotiations with the United States and possesses the capacity to sustain the current conflict across the Middle East for an indefinite period, as the country prepares to bury its long-time ruler following his death in US-Israeli strikes.
Mohammad Mokhber, a high-ranking advisor to the late supreme leader, told state television on Wednesday that Iran’s position toward Washington remains firmly closed to diplomacy. He stated that the Islamic Republic harbours “no trust in the Americans and we have no basis for any negotiations with them.”
In remarks that signal Tehran’s intent to withstand prolonged military pressure, Mokhber drew a direct parallel to the eight-year conflict with Iraq in the 1980s. “We can continue the war as long as we want,” he told the broadcaster, echoing the national endurance that defined the Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988 .
The assertion of military durability comes as Iran makes arrangements for the burial of Khamenei, who was killed at the age of 86 during coordinated US and Israeli military operations over the weekend. The official Islamic Republic News Agency (Irna) has detailed plans for a three-day state funeral procession beginning Wednesday evening.
According to a statement from the Islamic Development Coordination Council cited by Irna, the public will be able to pay their respects starting at 10:00 pm local time (1830 GMT) at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosque in Tehran. Following the capital city ceremony, the supreme leader’s remains will be transferred to his birthplace of Mashhad in northeastern Iran for burial . Khamenei had held the country’s highest office for 36 years after succeeding the founder of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, in 1989.
As the Islamic Republic navigates this period of transition, the widow of the last Shah of Iran has offered a measured assessment of the country’s prospects, cautioning against assumptions that the leadership vacuum would precipitate the regime’s immediate collapse.
Farah Pahlavi, speaking to AFP from her Paris residence on Tuesday, described Khamenei’s death as “historically significant” but rejected the notion that his passing would automatically unravel the system he helped sustain for decades.
“The passing of a man — however central he may be to the architecture of power — does not automatically mean the end of a system,” said the 87-year-old former empress, who has lived in exile since the 1979 revolution that overthrew her husband, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi .
She argued that the determining factor for Iran’s future rests with its population rather than external events. “What will be decisive,” she said, would be “the ability of the Iranian people to unite around a peaceful, orderly and sovereign transition to a state governed by the rule of law.”
Farah Pahlavi stated that her son, Reza Pahlavi, “is in the process of preparing” for such a political transition. The US-based crown prince has actively positioned himself as an alternative leadership figure should the Islamic Republic fall, gaining increased visibility during nationwide protests that peaked in January .
However, the exiled prince’s aspirations have received a lukewarm reception from the Trump administration. Speaking alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in the Oval Office on Tuesday, President Donald Trump expressed reservations about Reza Pahlavi’s suitability to lead Iran.
While describing Pahlavi as “a very nice person,” Trump questioned whether the exiled figure commands sufficient support within the country. “It would seem to me that somebody from within, maybe, would be more appropriate,” Trump said, adding that “most of the people we had in mind are dead” . The president suggested that an internal figure, “somebody that’s there, that’s currently popular, if there is such a person,” would represent a more viable leadership option emerging from the power vacuum .
In a social media post on Tuesday, Reza Pahlavi appealed for national unity among Iran’s ethnic minorities and appeared to discourage separatist movements from exploiting the current instability to push for independence .
Farah Pahlavi used the interview to issue a broader appeal to the international community, urging external powers to prioritize the rights of the Iranian people over strategic interests. “What I want is for the international community to clearly support the fundamental rights of Iranians: the right to choose their leaders, to express themselves freely, to live in dignity and prosperity,” she said. “The support must go to the people, not to geopolitical calculations” .
She also directed a plea to Iranian authorities, calling on them “to show restraint and avoid any bloodshed.”
Her reference to restraint comes against the backdrop of a violent government response to civil unrest earlier this year. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) has documented more than 7,000 deaths during the crackdown on protests that swept through Tehran in January, with the majority of casualties being protesters. The organisation has warned that the full death toll is likely higher, as access to information was severely restricted during the internet shutdown imposed by authorities .
Other rights organizations have produced varying estimates of the death toll from the protests that began in late December. The Norway-based Iran Human Rights group has verified 3,428 protestor deaths, while HRANA’s figures have increased over time as more cases are confirmed. In late January, HRANA reported 5,848 confirmed deaths and was investigating more than 17,000 additional potential fatalities. The same organization recorded more than 41,000 arrests . Iran International, a Persian-language opposition channel, reported in late January that more than 36,500 Iranians were killed by security forces on January 8 and 9 alone, citing government and security sources, though this figure could not be independently verified .
Iranian officials have offered significantly lower figures, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi telling Fox News the death toll was “hundreds” and dismissing higher estimates reported by groups abroad as an “exaggeration” and a “misinformation campaign” . The Iranian foundation for martyrs and veterans has stated that 3,117 people were killed, distinguishing between what it called “martyrs”—members of security forces or innocent bystanders—and “rioters” backed by the United States .
The current military escalation follows intensified hostilities between Iran, the US and Israel. Khamenei’s death occurred in the initial wave of strikes, with Trump confirming further operations targeting surviving Iranian leadership . The conflict has drawn in multiple regional actors, with US Central Command reporting more than 1,700 targets struck in Iran since the operation began .
