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Finally, a Finished Project
By Behnam Mohammadi
In a country with 65,000 unfinished projects, the Islamic Republic finally managed to complete one thing after a 120-day delay: a funeral.
Embellished and extravagant, it stretched out over six days, five cities, and two countries. In Tehran alone, six thousand sprinklers cooled the faithful. Fifty million loaves were baked. Airports closed, field hospitals went up, visas were handed out, and volunteers were called in to give the regime one final show of power for a supreme leader it had presented as a pillar of the Islamic world.
Meanwhile, Iranians now pay 88.6 percent more for the same basic goods than they did a year ago. Bread and cereals have risen by 120.7 percent; “fruit and nuts” by 93.5 percent; “food and beverages” by 90.7 percent; and “milk, cheese and eggs” by 90.2 percent. Millions still live surrounded by unfinished schools, hospitals, and roads.
For families who are not allowed to mourn their own dead—the executed, the shot, the disappeared, and the passengers lost in the sky—the message was clear: in the Islamic Republic, grief is only allowed when it serves the state.
Welcome to the Kayhan Life Week in Review
This week’s developments exposed the instability of the Islamic Republic’s position at home and abroad. The week began with a three-week-old ceasefire with the United States collapsing after Islamic Republic forces renewed attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz. Washington then revoked the license authorizing Iranian oil sales, causing market unrest. Tehran then struck against U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait, and the U.S. responded by striking military targets in Iran, which NATO called necessary. Inside Iran, the regime staged an elaborate six-day funeral for Ali Khamenei, a ceremony meant to project religious legitimacy and political continuity, but one which exposed isolation and fracture. Away from the battlefield, the human cost was reflected in a lawsuit in Washington accusing the Trump administration of sharing Iranian asylum seekers’ confidential information with Tehran, the hunger strike of jailed British couple Craig and Lindsay Foreman, and a stark reminder of one of the bloodiest crackdowns in recent Iranian history.
►The week witnessed the collapse of the fragile diplomatic track, as tensions sharpened between the United States and Iran. Soon after, President Donald Trump said that the United States would reach a deal with the Islamic Republic or « finish the job »; the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) fired missiles at commercial ships transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, and a tanker was struck east of Oman’s Limah. Qatar’s foreign ministry, describing the incident as a clear violation of international law, urged Tehran to halt actions threatening regional security and maritime navigation, and said Tehran bore full legal responsibility for the attack and any resulting damage or consequences.
Iran Fires Missiles at Commercial Ships in Strait of Hormuz, Axios Reports
LNG Tanker at Risk of Exploding After Two Vessels Struck Near Strait of Hormuz
►In response, Washington moved to revoke a license authorizing Iranian oil sales, warning that attacks near the Strait of Hormuz would carry market and diplomatic consequences.
US Revoking License That Authorized Iranian Oil Sales, Official Says
►The IRGC then launched missile and drone attacks on U.S. military sites in Bahrain and Kuwait after American strikes on Iranian regime targets. President Donald Trump said the interim accord with the Islamic Republic was “over.” U.S. forces hit 170 military targets, including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte defended the new U.S. strikes, saying Washington had to respond forcefully to ceasefire violations by the Islamic Republic. His remarks signaled Western alignment behind the American position and added diplomatic weight to the military escalation.
Iran Targets Sites in Bahrain, Kuwait After Wave of US Strikes
Trump Says Interim Accord to End War Is ‘Over’ After Iranian Strikes
US Central Command Says Forces Completed Additional Strikes on Iran
New Attacks on Iran Were Absolutely Necessary, NATO Chief Says
►The tit for tat continued with the IRGC targeting U.S. military infrastructure in neighboring Persian Gulf states.
Islamic Republic Says It Hits US Military Targets, Prepares to Bury Slain Leader
►The renewed war and choreographed mourning captured the regime’s chaotic state of affairs. Khamenei’s burial at Imam Reza’s shrine was intended to elevate his religious standing and display continuity. Instead, the six-day procession across five cities and two countries exposed the regime’s isolation and the cracks within its political, clerical and symbolic order.
OPINION: Khamenei’s Funeral Spotlights A Regime in Crisis
►Meanwhile, the Iranian American Legal Defense Fund and Public Citizen Litigation Group have sued the U.S. government, accusing federal agencies of unlawfully sharing confidential asylum information with the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of a broader deportation effort, a claim the U.S. government denied.
Lawsuit Alleges US Shared Information With Iran About Asylum Seekers, US Denies Allegation
►Inside Iran’s prisons, Craig and Lindsay Foreman, a British couple sentenced on espionage charges, continued a hunger strike over conditions, according to HRANA. Their reported weight loss, lack of adequate care, and isolation from family highlight the stakes of the regime’s detention practices.
Rights Group Says Jailed British Couple in Iran Continue Hunger Strike
►Culture closed the week with memory and testimony. “77 Hours,” a thriller inspired by the January 8–9 massacre in Iran, is set to premiere in London. The film revisits one of the bloodiest crackdowns in recent Iranian history through the language of survival, fear, and resistance, preserving its lasting significance.
Movie of Iran Massacre, ’77 Hours,’ to Premiere in London; Director Speaks to Kayhan Life |
