STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Huge crowds are following the funeral procession for Iran's former supreme leader, Ali Khamenei through the streets of Tehran today.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Khamenei was killed on the first day of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. So were four of his family members, and their caskets are also in the procession. A shaky truce remains in place between the U.S. and Iran, and Israel is still trying to find its place within a ceasefire it did not negotiate and did not approve.
INSKEEP: NPR's Carrie Kahn is covering all this from Tel Aviv. Hi, Carrie.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: Hi. Good morning.
INSKEEP: What does the funeral look like in Tehran?
KAHN: Well, we're watching it on state media, and we see these large crowds surrounding this huge semitruck, and it's adorned in white paneling, and it's carrying the caskets of the former supreme leader and his family members. Iranian officials say they had to wait months for the funeral because of the, quote, "war conditions." They were afraid of attacks possibly on such a large public crowd. Key mediators in the war sent officials there. Pakistan's prime minister's there, and Qatar sent a delegation, as well as Saudi Arabia, longtime rival of Iran.
Meanwhile, indirect talks in Doha to hash out the details to end the war between the U.S. and Iran are on hold. That's according to Qatar's foreign minister, and that's until the funeral ends in a few days.
INSKEEP: Well, as you know very well, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is not part of those talks that you mentioned. How is Israel's prime minister trying to get back in the game here?
KAHN: A source familiar with the matter, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the visit, tells the NPR that Netanyahu has been asking Trump for a face-to-face meeting for some time but was repeatedly turned down until now. He wants to talk about Iran and looking for U.S. approval for potential Israeli military action against Iran if, quote, "that becomes necessary." Netanyahu has been on the defensive here about that interim deal. It's very unpopular in Israel. It's seen as being too lenient to Iran. And the prime minister, who faces elections this fall, has had to defend his relationship with Trump. Here he is on Fox News yesterday.
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PRIME MINISTER BENJAMIN NETANYAHU: Our alliance has been a terrific one, and it'll continue to the extent that I have anything to do with it, and the people of Israel, who are unabashedly pro-America.
KAHN: We're not sure exactly when Netanyahu will meet with Trump at the White House. First, Trump will attend the NATO summit this week in Turkey. But remember too that that 60-day deadline to hash out the details of the preliminary peace plan to end the war, it's about a month away now.
INSKEEP: You mentioned that Israelis do not like the terms with Iran. They seem especially not to like the idea that they would be limited in their actions in Lebanon. How is the ceasefire there going?
KAHN: We still see near-daily strikes in Lebanon, which Israel insists are defensive tactics that they have to use to stop Hezbollah militants there. Lebanon's president, though, yesterday, defended the U.S.-brokered ceasefire agreement between Israel and Lebanon. He said, look, it has its flaws, but for now, it's the best that will, quote, "get us out of wars."
His government is getting a lot of heat this weekend too, Steve. These bright electronic billboards projecting huge American flags and saying happy Fourth of July lit up highways and roads around Beirut. Many took to social media to condemn them, saying remember, it's U.S. weapons Israel uses to attack Hezbollah, that, according to Lebanese authorities, have killed more than 4,000 people there and displaced more than a million.
INSKEEP: Really interesting. NPR's Carrie Kahn in Tel Aviv. Thanks so much.
KAHN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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