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Iran begins dayslong funeral for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
+705 words added -681 words removed
− By
The Associated Press
A crowd attends the start of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026.
+ Hadeel Al-Shalchi
A crowd attends the start of the dayslong funeral ceremonies at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026.
− Altaf Qadri/AP hide caption
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran began a dayslong funeral Saturday for the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, months after an airstrike killed him at the start of the war. He was 86.
+ Altaf Qadri/AP hide caption
ISTANBUL – Four months after Iran's Supreme Leader was killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes, the country is holding his funeral.
− Middle East conflict What you need to know about the preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement signed by Trump Authorities unveiled the casket containing Khamenei's body in a glass case at the Grand Mosalla in Tehran, Iran's capital.
+ Middle East conflict What you need to know about the preliminary U.S.-Iran agreement signed by Trump Iranian state media showed huge crowds at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla - a large prayer complex in Tehran - visiting the casket of Ayatollah's Ali Khamenei, who was killed on Feb.
− Mourners wept at the sight, with some chanting: "Our word is one!
+ 28 at the start of the U.S.-Israel war against Iran.
− Revenge! Revenge!"
Some carried banners and flags, while billboards across the city bore Khamenei's image. Crowds of men rhythmically beat their chests in mourning, a common practice at Shiite funerals.
+ The caskets of four of his killed family members were also on display.
− "I am here to say goodbye to my beloved leader Ali Khamenei," said a weeping Hananeh Mousavi, 27, who attended the funeral alongside her mother.
+ Men and women in the crowd wore black and wept openly.
− "I never expected to see such a day.
+ Women slapped their heads with their hands in mourning, while men beat their chests in unison, a tradition observed at Shia funerals.
− I wish I had died before this tragedy."
An outdoor stage set up at the Grand Mosalla resembled the stage where Khamenei once gave his speeches at a husseiniyah at his compound in downtown Tehran.
+ There were chants of "Death to America" and big red signs that read "#KillTrump." Some people waved flags, including red ones that symbolize revenge and many yellow ones that represented the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia Hezbollah.
− That site was destroyed in the Israeli airstrike that killed Khamenei and some of his family at the start of the Iran war on Feb. 28. The caskets of his dead family members sat beneath his, which had his black turban atop it, identifying him as a direct descendent of the Prophet Muhammad.
+ Hezbollah and Israel have been fighting since the beginning of the war.
+ A spokesperson for the funeral preparations issued a statement saying that the ceremonies were delayed this long because of "the war conditions" and "the brutal US invasion."
The funeral is one way the Iranian regime is trying to show stability and power to Iranians and the world, sending a message that the Islamic revolutionary power that leads the country still enjoys popularity.
− Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption
Iran's government expects to see millions flood the streets of the capital in scenes reminiscent of the burial of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1989. Organizers sprayed water on the crowds and offered cold drinks to help those with the summertime heat.
+ Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption
On Friday, a number of official foreign delegations and religious leaders attended a ceremony as Khamenei lay in state.
− "We attended the funeral to show that we are all committed to defend our country and religion," said Ali Kazemi, who came from the northwestern city of Tabriz, some 530 kilometers (330 miles) away from Tehran.
A large turnout 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.
A man holds a picture of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a crowd waits for his casket to arrive at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque for the start of the dayslong funeral ceremonies in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026.
+ Russia, which has supported Iran during the war and has received drones from Iran for its war in Ukraine, sent former president Dmitry Medvedev.
− Altaf Qadri/AP hide caption
Iran chose July 4, the 250th anniversary of the creation of the U.S., to begin the funeral.
+ Pakistan sent its Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
− While authorities did not acknowledge the timing, crowds at the ceremony in Tehran chanted: "Death to America!" — reprising a cry that's been common in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and U.S.
+ Other foreign attendees included the president of Iraq, the Afghan foreign minister and a delegation from Hamas.
− Embassy takeover and hostage crisis.
+ Saudi Arabia, which has been at odds with Iran for decades – and where Iran attacked a U.S. military base in March, sent a delegation.
− "We knocked the hell out of Iran," U.S.
+ The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, and the speaker of parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has led the ceasefire negotiating team with the U.S., were seen praying near the caskets.
− President Donald Trump said in a speech at the same time in South Dakota in front of Mount Rushmore.
+ There has been no sign of Iran's current leader, Khamenei's son, Mojataba Khamenei.
− "They want to settle so badly.
+ He has not been seen in public since he took over in March.
Khamenei was a divisive figure in Iran.
− We gave them a week off for a funeral."
The American president was not forgotten in Tehran.
+ He was Supreme Leader since 1989 and oversaw the expansion of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC.
A man holds a picture of slain Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as a crowd waits for his casket to arrive at the Imam Khomeini Mosalla Grand Mosque for the start of the dayslong funeral ceremonies in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, July 4, 2026.
− In the crowd in Grand Mosalla, several mourners held a large flag that read: "#KillTrump."
Khamenei's body will be transported to cities in both Iran and neighboring Iraq.
+ Altaf Qadri/AP hide caption
The IRGC was responsible for the killing of at least 7,000 people during nationwide antigovernment protests that broke out in Dec.
− Authorities have shut down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran for the mourning.
+ 2025, according to HRANA, an Iranian human rights organization.
− It remains unclear whether Iran's new supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, will appear at his father's funeral.
+ A 32-year old woman whose brother was killed during the protests in January told NPR that Khamenei's funeral gave her little comfort.
− The late supreme leader 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. Mojtaba Khamenei's late wife was one of the dead on display at the Grand Mosalla.
+ She asked NPR not to use her name fearing government retaliation.
− Israel's repeated threats to kill Mojtaba Khamenei drew a warning from Iran's joint military command Thursday, which told Israel and the U.S.
+ "Even in the Ayatollah's death he still causes us torment," she told NPR.
33-year old Fatmeh, who asked NPR to only use her first name because she was afraid of retaliation from the government, said she argued with her family all the time, especially her mother who she says sees Khamenei as part of her religion.
"She is definitely going to take part in the funeral," Fatmeh said about her mother.
Mourners will be able to visit Khamenei's body in Tehran until the end of the weekend.
On Monday, a funeral procession will take the body to the city of Qom and then the procession will cross into Iraq where he will be taken to Shia religious sites in the holy cities of Najaf and Karbala.
− "to avoid any miscalculation" over the coming days.
+ He will finally be transported back to Iran where he will be buried in his birthplace of Mashhad on Thursday.
+ Iranian officials say they expect millions of people to attend.