Tehran, July 4,2026: Vast crowds of Iranians gathered in Tehran on Saturday as the country began nearly a week of funeral ceremonies for late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in what authorities hope will be a major display of national mourning and defiance following the recent US-Iran war.
Clad in black and waving red flags symbolising vengeance and justice, mourners thronged the Grand Mosalla religious complex in the Iranian capital, where the funeral ceremonies officially opened. Chants of “death to America” and “revenge, revenge” echoed through the venue as thousands paid tribute to the man who ruled the Islamic republic for more than three decades.
Iranian authorities expect the ceremonies to draw millions of people over the coming days. The funeral rites for Khamenei, who was assassinated at the age of 86 in a US-Israeli strike at the start of the regional conflict in February, are scheduled to continue for six days across multiple cities in Iran and Iraq before his burial in his hometown of Mashhad.
There was still no public appearance by Khamenei’s son and successor, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has remained out of sight since being named supreme leader following his father’s assassination. Senior Iranian officials and foreign dignitaries had paid their respects on Friday before the funeral complex was opened to the public.
The coffin of Khamenei was displayed alongside those of several family members reportedly killed in the February 28 strikes, including his infant granddaughter. The casket will remain in Tehran until Monday, when a procession is due to pass through the capital. It will then move to Qom before continuing to holy sites in Iraq and finally to Mashhad for burial later in the week.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was among the foreign dignitaries who paid respects on Friday. In a message issued on Saturday, he said Khamenei’s “wisdom, leadership and profound influence on Iran and the wider region will be remembered for generations” and reaffirmed that Pakistan stood with Iran in its time of grief.
Security has been tightened across Tehran for what is expected to be Iran’s largest public event since the 1989 funeral of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Roads have been blocked, airspace restrictions are expected, and heat mitigation measures have been put in place as temperatures in the capital are forecast to exceed 35 degrees Celsius in the coming days.
