US Senator Rick Scott has questioned Pakistan's role as a possible mediator in the US-Iran ceasefire. He criticised Islamabad after Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif attended the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran. Scott also accused Pakistan of hypocrisy and referred to its past links with terrorism while reacting to Sharif's remarks at the funeral.

Scott shared a video of Sharif's speech on X. In the video, the Pakistani Prime Minister paid tribute to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who died on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli war against Iran. During the funeral, Sharif described Khamenei as "a great scholar and leader whom millions of Muslims will remember." He also said, "Pakistan and Iran will march together under all circumstances."

The US Senator strongly criticised these remarks. In the post shared with the video, Scott recalled Pakistan's past record on terrorism and said the United States was closely watching Islamabad's actions. He questioned Pakistan's credibility and opposed any suggestion that it could help mediate tensions involving Iran.

Scott wrote, "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 also dismissed Pakistan's ability to act as a mediator in the conflict. Scott said Pakistan was "no better qualified to 'mediate' this than the Hamas-harbouring Qataris." He ended his message with a warning, saying, "Islamabad should take note; we're watching closely."

Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in the Iranian holy city of Qom on Tuesday to take part in the fourth day of funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. His body is lying in state at the Jamkaran Mosque, one of the country's most important religious sites. Qom is home to many of Shia Islam's leading seminaries and shrines. The city has a population of around 1.5 million people.

State television showed aerial footage of the large crowds filling the streets of Qom. Mourners came together to pay their final respects to the late leader. Abdollah Javadi-Amoli, a 93-year-old ayatollah and an influential conservative Shia cleric, led the prayer service inside the mosque.

Many people at the gathering chanted "death to America," a slogan that often echoes at official events in Iran. Television footage also showed mourners, including clerics wearing traditional turbans, paying tribute to the coffins of Khamenei and four family members who died with him. The deceased included a granddaughter who was reportedly only 14 months old.

After the prayer service, a funeral procession moved through the city. A truck carried the bodies toward the mausoleum of Fatima Masumeh, the sister of Imam Reza, the eighth Shia imam and a descendant of the Prophet Mohammed. Large crowds lined the streets during the procession.

The funeral events followed another major procession held in Tehran a day earlier. That ceremony drew huge crowds as well. Iranian authorities used the event to project an image of strength and national unity after the recent war and months of anti-government protests that had spread across the country. Large numbers of people attended the funeral, making it one of the biggest public gatherings in Iran in recent decades. Many observers compared it to the funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, in 1989.

Iran will continue the funeral ceremonies in the coming days. Another procession is scheduled to take place on Wednesday in neighbouring Iraq, where a large Shia population lives. The final burial of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will take place on Thursday in his hometown of Mashhad, a holy city in northeastern Iran. Khamenei led Iran for more than three decades until his death at the age of 86.