US Senator Rick Scott on Tuesday criticised Pakistan's role in efforts surrounding the US-Iran peace process, accusing Islamabad of double standards after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
In a post on X, Scott questioned Pakistan's suitability to act as a mediator, stating: "We need to remember who Pakistan really is in the middle of all this. We’re talking about a country where bin Laden hid out for a decade, where they selectively enforce lopsided blasphemy laws to persecute Christians, and where the Prime Minister just praised the genocidal mass murdering tyrant that used to run Iran."
He further wrote, "They’re no better qualified to 'mediate' this than the Hamas-harboring Qataris. Islamabad should take note; we’re watching closely."
Scott's comments followed Sharif's visit to Tehran for Khamenei's funeral, where the Pakistani Prime Minister paid tribute to the late Iranian leader. In a video shared by the senator, Sharif described Khamenei as "a great scholar and leader whom millions of Muslims will remember" and said, "Pakistan and Iran will march together under all circumstances."
The funeral procession drew large crowds across the Iranian capital, with mourners dressed in black gathering along the streets as Khamenei's coffin was taken through Tehran.
Khamenei's flag-draped coffin, along with those of family members killed in an airstrike at the outset of the war launched by Israel and the United States, was carried through the city in a procession that Iranian authorities projected as a symbol of national unity.
The ceremony also witnessed anti-US and anti-Israel slogans from mourners, many of whom called for the deaths of US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some participants carried placards demanding revenge, while others displayed effigies of Trump.
The funeral took place against the backdrop of stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran aimed at securing a permanent end to the conflict. Discussions are expected to resume only after Khamenei's burial, with key differences remaining over Iran's nuclear programme, the Strait of Hormuz and the broader regional conflict.
Also read | 'Communism a mortal threat to American liberty': Trump Addresses Landmark US 250 Event
