Iran’s top national security official warned the United States on Monday that it would face a response “in a different way” unless President Donald Trump addressed the Iranian people with respect, a statement issued hours after the funeral of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. According to Iranian state media, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr described Trump as “delusional” and recalled that previous US threats to destroy Iran’s civilisation had resulted only in “defeat and despair” and requests for negotiations. The exchange followed Trump’s remarks to journalists in the Oval Office, where he said Washington would “either make a deal or finish the job” in Iran, while adding that he preferred a deal to avoid affecting 91 million people.

The funeral itself, held under tight security, drew critical coverage from London-based Persian-language outlet Iran International, which reported that several provinces were shut down to facilitate attendance. Despite forced closures, free transport and organised mobilisation, the outlet cited citizens who described the ceremony at Tehran’s Mosalla as sparsely attended, calling it a political and legitimacy failure. The same reports noted that a symbolic stoning of Trump was staged at the event, a display that some Iranians contrasted with the government’s stated readiness to negotiate with Washington. Iran International also quoted citizens who said the heavy spending on the funeral came as many households could no longer afford meat or protein, with some feeding their children chicken bones.

Viewed from Tehran, the funeral underscored the economic pressures and public discontent that have mounted during Khamenei’s tenure. The Supreme Leader, who died in what Iranian state media described as a war, had consolidated control over all armed forces and security institutions since assuming the leadership in 1989. According to the London-based outlet, Khamenei’s decades-long focus on missile programmes, regional paramilitary expansion and a nuclear programme with military aims cost hundreds of billions of dollars directly, with indirect costs running into trillions, without delivering energy development or deterrence. The reports added that his death removes the central coordinator of Iran’s military and security apparatus, a loss that analysts in the region say will be difficult to compensate for in the short to medium term, especially given the absence of his son Mojtaba from the funeral.

The succession process remains opaque, and no clear timeline has been announced for the selection of a new Supreme Leader. Meanwhile, the US administration has reiterated its dual-track approach of threatening military action while expressing a preference for a negotiated settlement. Iranian officials, for their part, have signalled defiance, with Zolghadr’s statement reflecting a broader insistence that Iran will not be intimidated. No formal talks are scheduled, and the standoff continues against the backdrop of a leadership transition that Western diplomatic sources describe as the most consequential in the Islamic Republic’s history.