BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Rodrigo Abd is a veteran AP photojournalist based in Buenos Aires. The two-time Pulitzer Prize winner has been honored for his coverage of the Syrian civil war and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Abd has worked for The Associated Press for more than 20 years, covering news around the world, including in Guatemala, Peru, Bolivia, Haiti, Venezuela, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Afghanistan, and Argentina.
During the World Cup, Argentine society transforms. Daily routines change, and popular passion can be seen everywhere. This example is dog walker Nahuel Meneghini’s idea: he took the time to make jerseys with Lionel Messi's number 10 on the back, along with matching leashes, so the dogs he walks can proudly show them off in the streets of Buenos Aires. The moment captured in the photo reflects the spirit of the country: everyone together, suffering together, hoping together, and celebrating together.
I shot this image with a 24mm lens because I felt I needed to be close close to the dogs, to his work, and to the atmosphere of Buenos Aires. I spent more than two hours walking with him, observing the scene and waiting for the right moment.
The image works because seeing 15 dogs walking through the streets dressed in Messi’s number 10, almost like a soccer team, is both striking and joyful. It becomes even more powerful because it takes place in the middle of the country’s World Cup fever, when everyone was nervous and all priorities seemed to become one: supporting the national team and hoping it would make it to the next round.
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
Dog walker Nahuel Meneghini walks dogs dressed in jerseys of the Argentine national soccer team in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran prepared Friday for the dayslong funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, with banners across Tehran urging the public to rise up in support of the Islamic Republic after the devastating war that killed the 86-year-old cleric.
State television showed people rallying at night in various Iranian cities, chanting slogans in support of the country's theocracy and against America and Israel.
The government expects to see millions flood the streets of the capital beginning Saturday in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989.
That could provide a boost for Iran's government, particularly as it tries to leverage its hold on the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations with the United States over a permanent end to the war, and as concern still lingers that Israel could attack yet again.
Despite that, a powerful general who leads Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard emerged publicly for the first time in months for the funeral. Other top government officials will also likely will be on hand alongside foreign dignitaries in a show of strength by Iran.
“As long as these people, who are chosen (by God), are on the field, we will definitely continue the same ‘no to humiliation’ policy that was founded by the Islamic Republic,” said Mohammad Hossein Rezaei, a volunteer preparing for the funeral Friday.
“We will continue our policy of pursuing independence, and decisions will be made inside the country, and the people will decide their own fate,” he said.
Khamenei's flag-draped coffin sat at Tehran's Grand Mosalla alongside family members killed in the Israeli airstrike that came in the first moments of the war on Feb. 28.
The dead being honored include a son-in-law, his eldest daughter, a 14-month-old granddaughter and the wife of Iran's new Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the previous leader who remains in hiding after reportedly being wounded in the attack.
Religious leaders and foreign dignitaries walked up to Khamenei’s casket as a military band played or a man sang prayers. Iran's Parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian, key leaders in the country's civilian government, all paid their respects.
Video published by Iranian state media showed an earlier mourning ceremony Thursday night for Khamenei. The black-clad mourners, whom state media identified as coming from families of those who lost loved ones in the 12-day war in 2025 and the recent Iran war, threw scarves and other items for attendants to brush against the coffin, a common practice in Iran seen as a blessing.
Later, state media showed images of Khamenei’s casket draped by a red flag with white calligraphy reading “Ya Hussein,” a Shiite expression in remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson. It had been flying over the Imam Hussein golden-domed shrine in Karbala, Iraq. The flag also traditionally symbolizes both the spilled blood of someone unjustly killed and a call for vengeance.
Photos published online by Iranian state media showed Gen. Ahmad Vahidi attending a meeting Thursday about the funeral of Khamenei, then sitting alongside his casket as Iran's theocracy held a smaller service for him Thursday night near the supreme leader's former home in downtown Tehran.
“They must know that the pure blood of our martyred imam will mark another turning point in the victories of beloved Islam across the global arena,” Vahidi told state television in comments aired Friday. “They will take to their graves the wish to see this nation surrender. This nation will rise higher day by day through this pure blood.”
Vahidi has become a major player in formulating Iran’s tough stance in negotiating a possible permanent end to the war with the United States, experts say. He had not been seen publicly since Feb. 8, weeks before the Iran war began. Israel killed top leaders in Iran’s military and government during the war, and has threatened the life of the new supreme leader as well. Vahidi is believed to be part of a small clique in direct contact with the younger Khamenei.
It remains unclear whether Khamenei will appear at his father's funeral. His father appeared in 1989 at Khomeini's funeral, weeping visibly, as he began his journey to lead Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.
Israel's repeated threats to kill Khamenei drew a warning from Iran's joint military command Thursday, which told Israel and the U.S. “to avoid any miscalculation" over the coming days.
Beginning Saturday, Iran will hold the dayslong funeral for Khamenei and his body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq. Authorities plan to shut down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran as mourners commemorate the life of Khamenei.
In Tehran, images of the late Khamenei's fist could be seen in banners and in a giant statue in Enghelab Square, framed by what appeared to be ballistic missiles flying through the air. In his first message to the nation, read by a state television anchor, Mojtaba Khamenei said he saw his father’s body after his death with raised, clenched fist.
The banners read in Arabic, English and Farsi: “We must rise.”
“This fist is the clenched fist of all us Muslims,” taxi driver Jafar Javadi said. “The leader’s fist is a sign all our fists are clenched and they (the enemies) will be destroyed with these fists, God willing. We will continue chanting death to America and death to Israel with the same clenched fist.”
Gambrell reported from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.
Iranian religious leaders and other mourners walk past the coffins of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family during a viewing ceremony ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi) CORRECTION : The religious leaders are Iranian, not foreigners
Iranian religious leaders and other mourners pay their respects before the coffins of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family during a viewing ceremony ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The coffins of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center on top, and members of his family are displayed ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Revolutionary Guard members and clerics mourn on the esplanade of the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque as preparations are underway ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies for slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Foreign religious leaders and other mourners walk past the coffins of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and members of his family during a viewing ceremony ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The casket of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's granddaughter, Zahra Mohammadi Golpayegani, is displayed alongside the caskets of Khamenei and other members of his family during a viewing ceremony ahead of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran's Basij paramilitary forces set up a checkpoint at a square ahead of the funeral ceremonies of slain Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown at the billboard at rear, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
The coffin of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is carried into the Mosalla Grand Mosque ahead of his funeral ceremonies in Tehran, Iran, Friday, July 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
In this photo released by Iran's Supreme Leader's office, Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Gen. Ahmad Vahidi sits alongside Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei casket as it lies in a mourning hall adjacent to the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya within the Supreme Leader's compound before his funeral in Tehran, Iran, late Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
A portrait of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and an Iranian flag are displayed in the window of a book store ahead of Khamenei's funeral ceremonies, in Tehran, Iran, Thursday, July 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
In this photo released by Iran's Supreme Leader's office, mourners react as they gather around the coffin of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as it lies in a mourning hall adjacent to the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya within the Supreme Leader's compound before his funeral in Tehran, Iran, late Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by Iran's Supreme Leader's office, mourners gather around the coffin of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as it lies in a mourning hall adjacent to the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya within the Supreme Leader's compound before his funeral in Tehran, Iran, late Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
In this photo released by Iran's Supreme Leader's office, mourners gather around the coffin of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as it lies in a mourning hall adjacent to the Imam Khomeini Hussainiya within the Supreme Leader's compound before his funeral in Tehran, Iran, late Thursday, July 2, 2026. (Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP)
