Iranian Foreign Minister Abas Araghchi accused the United States of committing an atrocity by sinking an Iranian navy ship off Sri Lanka and warned it would “bitterly regret” the precedent set.

“The US has perpetrated an atrocity at sea, 2,000 miles away from Iran’s shores. Frigate Dena, a guest of India’s Navy carrying almost 130 sailors, was struck in international waters without warning,” he posted on X.

“Mark my words: The US will come to bitterly regret precedent it has set”, he added.

Iran announced that a state funeral for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which had been planned for Wednesday evening in Tehran, was postponed “in anticipation of unprecedented turnout,” state television reported.

“The farewell ceremony for the martyred Imam has been postponed. The new date will be announced later,” Iranian television reported on Wednesday after Khamenei was killed at 86 in US-Israeli strikes over the weekend.

On Wednesday morning, authorities had said a tribute would take place that same evening in Tehran before Khamenei’s body was buried in the holy city of Mashhad, where he was from.

Strikes have pummelled Tehran since Saturday, with missiles targeting military and government infrastructure.

Authorities did not link the postponement to the security situation.

It was partly down to “the expected participation of millions of people and the need to provide the proper infrastructure” for such a crowd, Mohsen Mahmoudi, head of Tehran’s Islamic Development Coordination Council, the body organising the event, told state TV.

A United States lawmaker, Riley Moore, has alleged that illegal rare earth mineral mining operations linked to China are fueling terrorist activities in Nigeria, worsening attacks on Christian communities in parts of the country.

Moore made the allegation during a live interview on Fox News, following the submission of his report earlier this week to Donald Trump. In the report, he detailed concerns about insecurity in Nigeria, particularly attacks targeting Christian communities.

According to Moore, while much of the international coverage has focused on religious violence, a critical economic dimension of the crisis has been largely overlooked.

“One key point that has been missing from much of the coverage is that the Chinese are running illegal rare earth mineral mining operations in Nigeria,” Moore stated.

He further alleged that proceeds from the illegal mining activities are being used to bankroll extremist groups operating in the region.

“They are paying protection money to radical Islamic terrorists who use that money to finance their operations to persecute and kill our brothers and sisters in Christ. This cannot continue,” he added.

Rare earth minerals are strategic resources used in the production of high-tech equipment, including defence systems, electronics and renewable energy technologies. Nigeria is believed to possess commercially viable deposits of such minerals, a development that has attracted increasing foreign interest in recent years.

Moore’s claims, if substantiated, could have far-reaching geopolitical and security implications, particularly amid intensifying global competition over critical mineral resources and rising concerns about insurgency and banditry in parts of northern Nigeria.