WASHINGTON, July 4. /TASS/. Washington has no intention of killing Iran’s leadership, as this would make it impossible to continue talks with Tehran, Axios reported, citing US President Donald Trump.

"Trump told Axios he's following the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, who was assassinated on the first day of the war in a joint US-Israeli operation," the news outlet noted. "They are all there. One shot [and we can take them all out], but we are not going to do that because then we would have nobody to negotiate with," Trump told Axios when asked about the possibility of striking Iranian officials.

According to the US leader, Iran is "begging to make a deal." The news outlet specified that Trump "added that he was surprised to see some Iranians crying at the funeral" for Ali Khamenei. "Maybe it's fake tears," Axios quoted the US president as saying.

Trump had previously stated that the U.S. had granted Iran a one-week break in negotiations due to Ali Khamenei’s funeral.

The funeral for Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US and Israeli strikes, began on July 3 in Tehran. High-level delegations from at least 100 countries are attending the memorial service. Russia was represented by Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev.