Iran’ s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday made his first public appearance since the 12-day war between Israel and Iran began, attending a mourning ceremony on the eve of Ashoura. The absence of Khamenei during the war had suggested heavy security for the Iranian leader,

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attended a religious event on Saturday, according to a video carried by state television, after reports that he was in a "secure location" since the start of a 12-day air war with Israel in which top Iranian commanders and nuclear scientists were killed.

Critics feared it would plunge the Middle East into a wider war. That doomsday scenario has not come to pass, at least for now: Iran made only symbolic retaliation against America; soon after, a ceasefire ended the fighting between Iran and Israel.