Miles de personas participaron este miércoles en la ciudad iraquí de Najaf de la procesión que acompaño el féretro del líder supremo iraní, Ali Khamenei, en una ceremonia que forma parte de los seis días de homenajes públicos organizados por Irán tras su muerte. El acto se desarrolló en medio de una nueva escalada militar entre Irán y Estados Unidos en el estrecho de Ormuz.

Las autoridades iraquíes decretaron feriado nacional para facilitar las ceremonias, que comenzaron a las 6:00 de la mañana, hora local, en la ciudad considerada uno de los principales centros del islam chiita. Un amplio operativo de seguridad custodió el recorrido, mientras miles de personas ocuparon las calles y muchas intentaron acercarse al camión que transportó el féretro para tocarlo durante el trayecto.

La procesión llegó hasta el santuario del imán Ali, yerno del profeta Mahoma y primer imán del chiismo, donde decenas de clérigos rezaron ante el ataúd antes de continuar el traslado hacia la ciudad de Karbala.

Los homenajes en Irak forman parte del cronograma establecido por Teherán para despedir a Khamenei, quien murió el 28 de febrero durante los ataques lanzados por Estados Unidos e Israel, en los que también fallecieron varios integrantes de su familia. Según las autoridades iraníes, las ceremonias comenzaron el sábado y reservaron una jornada especial para Irak, país que alberga los principales santuarios del islam chiita y mantiene estrechos vínculos religiosos y políticos con la República Islámica.

El martes por la noche, funcionarios iraquíes y dirigentes políticos recibieron los restos de Khamenei en el aeropuerto internacional de Najaf. Del acto participaron el presidente iraní, Masoud Pezeshkian, y Mostafa Khamenei, hijo mayor del fallecido líder.

En cambio, Mojtaba Khamenei, designado como nuevo líder supremo poco después de la muerte de su padre, no apareció en público desde su nombramiento y solo difundió comunicados escritos.

La despedida de Khamenei en Irak coincidió con una nueva escalada militar en el estrecho de Ormuz. Estados Unidos informó que atacó decenas de objetivos iraníes en respuesta a los ataques atribuidos a Teherán contra tres embarcaciones en esa zona estratégica para el comercio mundial de petróleo.

Por su parte, la Guardia Revolucionaria iraní sostuvo que alcanzó instalaciones militares estadounidenses en Baréin y Kuwait como parte de la respuesta a las operaciones de Washington.

Tras la ceremonia en Najaf, el féretro será trasladado por vía aérea a Karbala, situada a unos 60 kilómetros al norte, donde otra multitud acompañará el recorrido hasta los santuarios del imán Hussein y de su hermano Abbas, dos de los lugares más sagrados para los fieles chiitas.

El entierro definitivo de Khamenei está previsto para este jueves en Mashhad, su ciudad natal, ubicada en el noreste de Irán.

Durante la procesión en Najaf, numerosos fieles llegaron desde distintas provincias iraquíes para participar de la ceremonia. Mohammed al-Bayati, un iraquí de 30 años que viajó durante varias horas para asistir al acto, afirmó: “Es una oportunidad que no se puede perder para participar en el funeral de la persona que desafió el poder de Estados Unidos e Israel”.

Najaf ocupa un lugar central dentro del islam chiita. La ciudad alberga los principales seminarios religiosos y también la residencia del gran ayatollah Ali Sistani, máxima autoridad religiosa chiita de Irak. Además, numerosos clérigos estudiaron o enseñaron allí, entre ellos el ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, fundador de la República Islámica y antecesor de Ali Khamenei.

A lo largo de las rutas de ambas procesiones, cientos de puestos administrados por voluntarios distribuyeron alimentos y bebidas a quienes participaron de las ceremonias.

El jefe de la Fuerza Quds de la Guardia Revolucionaria, Esmail Qaani, destacó la organización del homenaje y sostuvo, según los medios estatales iraníes: “La amplia planificación de este acontecimiento histórico por parte del gobierno y del pueblo iraquí muestra al mundo la profundidad del vínculo espiritual entre las dos grandes naciones de Irak e Irán”.

La relación entre ambos países atravesó etapas muy diferentes. Durante la década de 1980, el entonces presidente iraquí Saddam Hussein enfrentó militarmente a Irán en una guerra que se prolongó durante ocho años. Sin embargo, tras la caída de Saddam en 2003, ambos países fortalecieron sus relaciones políticas y religiosas bajo los sucesivos gobiernos dominados por partidos chiitas en Bagdad.

En la actualidad, Irán mantiene influencia sobre dirigentes políticos y grupos armados iraquíes. Algunas de esas organizaciones participaron en el conflicto regional tras la muerte de Khamenei y lanzaron ataques contra instalaciones estadounidenses en territorio iraquí.

(Con información de AFP)

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., who has left the door open to a 2028 presidential run, is facing new questions about his judgment after rescinding support for a second Democratic candidate accused of misconduct involving women.

Gallego rescinded his endorsement of Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner on Monday after a rape allegation surfaced. The move comes just months after Gallego pulled his support from Eric Swalwell’s disastrous California gubernatorial bid amid separate allegations of sexual assault and misconduct.

Both Platner and Swalwell have denied the allegations against them. In a social media post on X announcing he would be withdrawing his support for Platner, Gallego called the accusations against Platner «troubling and deeply serious.»

Meanwhile, Lyndsey Fifield, Platner’s former girlfriend who has publicly accused Platner of abusive behavior, called out Gallego after the Arizona senator withdrew his Platner endorsement Monday, suggesting Gallego had ample warning signs before finally abandoning the embattled Maine Democrat.

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«Mine weren’t sufficiently troubling or serious for you, right?» Fifield wondered in response to a social media post on X from Gallego, referring to the accounts of her relationship with Platner provided to The New York Times and published several weeks ago.

Fifield’s allegations were included in a June 4 New York Times report examining Platner’s past relationships in which she alleged that he repeatedly grabbed her hard enough to leave marks, pulled her from a cab by the wrist and, in one incident, twisted her arm behind her back and held her in a room while they were dating several years ago. Fifield told the Times Platner never hit or punched her but said the alleged incidents left her shaken and afraid. Platner denied being violent and called the allegations false.

Still, Platner drew support from influential Democratic figures before and after the Times report. «Pod Save America» co-host Jon Lovett acknowledged after the June 4 story that the Times had reported allegations that Platner was «intimidating and even physically aggressive with past romantic partners» but argued Democrats had to weigh whether they preferred «a Democratic majority with Graham Platner in the Senate» or a Republican majority with incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine. 

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Fellow co-host Jon Favreau had previously praised Platner as Democrats’ «best and only chance» to beat Collins and as a «good, decent man who’s struggled and grown and is always trying to do better.»

Graham Platner, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate for Maine, during a primary election night event at the Blue Hill YMCA in Blue Hill, Maine, June 9, 2026. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

«Senator Gallego did the right thing and broke with those individuals when he learned they had betrayed values he proudly fights for,» a Gallego spokesperson told Fox News Digital. 

But Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., said people like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., needed to apologize for backing Platner, telling Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that he «refused» early on to look past the claims. 

«What he did is he effectively broke in her home – he went in her home without her consent, then he came upstairs and assaulted her. She also described that created a dangerous situation for a possible pregnancy because of those circumstances, what he’s done,» Fetterman said of the latest allegations.

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«He was already a dead man walking politically,» Fetterman continued. «Even those ‘Pod Save America’ people who pushed that dirtbag — and they dismissed those things in The New York Times article — maybe they ought to apologize to the women that clearly they didn’t believe or they dismissed.

«I know Democrats that have back-to-back endorsed and gone all in on Swalwell and were on the Platner train as well too. So, maybe stop getting in bed with absolute dirtbags, someone like Platner.»

A Fox News Digital review of public endorsement announcements and press reports found Gallego was the only sitting member of Congress clearly identified as having endorsed both Swalwell and Platner. Separate state and local affiliates within the SEIU and AFL-CIO labor union networks were involved in each race, but they were not the same endorsing entities.

Democratic Party candidate for U.S. Senate in Maine Graham Platner (left) and former Democratic Party Rep. Eric Swalwell (right) (Getty Images)

«The allegations against Platner are awful but are also unsurprising to anyone who actually read the NYT catch-and-kill story. The victim strongly implied the allegations there,» former chief counsel to Senate Leader Mitch McConnell, Mike Fragoso, said this week after the latest round of allegations against Platner.

The latest allegation came from Jenny Racicot, a Maine Democrat who said she dated Platner on and off from 2019 to 2021 and had previously spoken to the Times for its June story. Racicot alleged in a Monday Politico report that Platner entered her home uninvited in late 2021 after she told him not to come over, was intoxicated, ignored her repeated objections and forced her to have sex. 

Politico reported that it reviewed text messages and emails with Racicot’s therapist and spoke with people she said she confided in after the alleged assault. Platner has once again denied the allegation as false.

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Gallego joined several other prominent Democrats after the Politico report in rescinding support for Platner or calling on him to exit the race, while Democratic operatives face a tight window under Maine election law to replace him if he withdraws.

«Gallego’s judgment is troubling,» Republican Arizona state Sen. Warren Peterson said. «Another Gallego endorsement going down in flames.»

«There is a bizarre pattern of Gallego, who claimed complete ignorance of his friend Eric Swalwell’s alleged abusive treatment of women and is now doing the same with Graham Platner,» said Jonathan Turley, a Fox News Media contributor and George Washington University law professor. 

«For Schumer’s PAC, Senatorial, Gallego, the Pod Bros, et al. the only real difference now is polling,» Fragoso said of the changing sentiment toward Platner.

Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., talks to reporters as he heads for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on Jun. 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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Meanwhile, conservative commentator Ryan Girdusky took aim at Gallego’s personal history, writing on X, «Ruben Gallego is dropping Graham Platner like he’s a pregnant wife.» 

The jab comes as Gallego has also faced separate scrutiny in reference to his 2016 divorce from wife Kate Gallego, who was pregnant at the time. 

Unsealed divorce records reportedly showed that Gallego filed for divorce on Dec. 15, 2016, and that his own motion to seal the case noted Kate Gallego had «not yet been served» but was «likely to give birth any day.»

In addition to scrutiny over his divorce, Gallego has faced complaints over his campaign spending on family travel, childcare and other personal expenses. A week ago, Politico reported that Gallego used campaign money on family trips to Miami, Saint Barthélemy, Disneyland, Disney World and Chicago. He also used funds to attend the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona, but the senator insisted that the tickets were a legitimate campaign fundraising expense.

Fox News Digital’s Peter D’Abrosca and Katelyn Caralle contributed to this report.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation into a Texas hospital Tuesday after it confirmed to Fox News that it advertised Spanish-language «Birth Packages in South Texas» on billboards in Mexico promoting childbirth services to pregnant foreign nationals near the U.S.-Mexico border.

Mission Regional Medical Center confirmed to Fox News that it was responsible for the advertising campaign, which promoted deliveries starting at $3,950 for a natural birth and $5,525 for a C-section, and directed viewers to a website, havemybabyinTEXAS.com, which has since been taken offline.

The billboards also displayed a telephone number beginning with «001,» the country code used to place calls to the United States from Mexico.

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«The marketing materials regarding maternity services are no longer in use due to any unintended misunderstanding,» a hospital spokesperson said in a statement to Fox News. «We do not support or facilitate any unlawful activity and work to comply with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations.»

The spokesperson said the campaign included two billboards located within approximately 5 miles of the hospital near a U.S.-Mexico border crossing. The hospital said both billboards and the website were removed Monday after images began circulating on social media. The spokesperson also said the campaign began in 2021 but did not specify when the billboards were installed.

Abbott on Tuesday directed Texas Health and Human Services Commission Executive Commissioner Stephanie Muth to investigate Mission Regional Medical Center for potential violations of state law and contractual obligations.

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A Spanish-language billboard promotes birth packages at Mission Regional Medical Center, advertising pricing for natural deliveries and C-sections in South Texas. (Right Angle News)

Images of the billboard circulated on social media before the hospital said it removed the advertisements Monday.

«‘Birth tourism’ is an illegal practice that exploits the extraordinary hospitality that the United States and Texas offer to millions of foreign travelers each year,» Abbott wrote in a July 7 letter obtained by Fox News. «Unfortunately, thousands of foreign travelers come to the United States under false pretenses to give birth and secure citizenship for their children.»

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An English-language billboard promotes birth packages at Mission Regional Medical Center, advertising pricing for natural deliveries and C-sections in South Texas. (Right Angle News)

Abbott directed HHSC to «immediately and thoroughly investigate» the hospital and said any violations should be referred to the Texas Attorney General for civil enforcement and to the appropriate district or county attorney for potential criminal prosecution.

«American citizenship is not for sale and Texas will not permit our healthcare system to be used as a magnet for birth tourism,» Abbott wrote.

The governor also said he plans to work with the Texas Legislature during its next session «to strengthen state law and eliminate birth tourism in Texas.»

«Unfortunately, birth tourism operations are not a new phenomenon,» Kyle Brosnan, general counsel of the Oversight Project, told Fox News Digital in a statement. «The Supreme Court’s egregiously wrong decision in the birthright citizenship case is going to open the floodgates to the birth tourism industry. Our country is much more than a pile of magic dirt. The only answer to these type of practices are criminal investigations and the mass deportation of illegal aliens.»

Mission Regional Medical Center also said it intends to cooperate with state officials.

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«We intend to work cooperatively and transparently with local and state officials,» the hospital said in a statement obtained by Fox News. «Our focus remains on delivering safe, high-quality care to every patient who seeks our services.»

The investigation comes as President Donald Trump’s executive order seeking to limit automatic birthright citizenship for some children born in the United States remains the subject of ongoing legal challenges.